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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his time behind bars has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Context of the Legal Situation

The former president entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan to obtain funds for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

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

Unprecedented Significance

Sarkozy, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy 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 am innocent of … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated 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 made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and courageous man and this detention has caused him great suffering.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be safer out of prison than within. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

Current Status

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be approved. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to protect him.

Accounts suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from the Public

His online presence last week posted a recording of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

The former leader 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 take revenge.

Legal Proceedings Details

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

The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been involved in a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three separate charges of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again 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 convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

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 dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.