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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his time behind bars has been “gruelling” and an “ordeal” as he was present via video link at a court hearing regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, wearing a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Context of the Legal Situation

The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to secure financing for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the ruling, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge proceeded.

Unprecedented Significance

The former leader, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

Sarkozy told the court from prison: “I never had any idea or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I am innocent of … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and brave man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

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

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be granted. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and toilet. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but declined the offer.

Encouragement from Outside

His online presence last week shared a video of piles of letters, postcards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy 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 seek retribution.

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 three decades.

Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and said he had not been part of a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and lost France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a separate case of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He had the device for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.