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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has declared that his time behind bars has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “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.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain funds for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course.

Unprecedented Importance

Sarkozy, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to go behind bars.

Personal Statement

Sarkozy stated to the judges 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 didn’t do … I could not have foreseen that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

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

Defense Lawyers Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be safer out of prison than within. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be approved. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and restroom. 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 contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Support from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a recording of piles of letters, postcards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a book. “No letter will go without a response,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

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

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to seek election funding 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 state prosecutor also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

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 encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s top honor, the national recognition.

The former president 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 improper sway. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence 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.