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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his time behind bars has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a plan to secure financing for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the ruling, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge took its course.

Historical Importance

Sarkozy, 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 go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

The former president told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I am innocent of … I could not have foreseen that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and brave man and this detention has caused him great suffering.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be safer out of prison than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Current Status

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and toilet. Security personnel are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Accounts indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but declined the offer.

Support from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a recording of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy brought with him a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and said he had not been involved in a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was acquitted 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 charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an monitoring device after being convicted in a different matter of corruption and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.