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The former French president has declared that his stay in prison has been “gruelling” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

The former leader, wearing a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a plan to obtain funds for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

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

Historical Importance

The former leader, who served as France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy stated to the judges 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 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 forced upon me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark 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 declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and brave man and this detention has caused him great suffering.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than within. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and restroom. Security personnel are stationed nearby to protect him.

Accounts indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Support from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of piles of letters, cards and parcels it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost 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 separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.