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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has declared that his stay in prison has been “exhausting” and a “nightmare” 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

The former leader, wearing a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Legal Situation

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

He has appealed against the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge took its course.

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I was completely unaware 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 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 said he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and courageous man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Current Status

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week posted a recording of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it claimed had been sent to him, including a collection, a sweet treat 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 biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but breaks out to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

Sarkozy maintained his innocence 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 corruption, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these acquittals, 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 encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a different matter of corruption and improper sway. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.