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The former French president has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “exhausting” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

The former leader, wearing a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Case

The former president entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a scheme to secure financing for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process proceeded.

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

The former president told the court from prison: “I never had any idea or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and courageous man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than within. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Encouragement from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a recording of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Legal Proceedings Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He wore the tag for three months before being allowed limited freedom.