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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has declared that his period of incarceration has been “exhausting” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “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 La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a scheme to secure financing for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

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

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to be imprisoned 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 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Legal Team Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He said of 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 visited him every day, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than within. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

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

Incarceration Details

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and toilet. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt 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 refused this.

Encouragement from the Public

His online presence last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader brought with him a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

Sarkozy maintained his innocence and stated he had not been part of a illegal scheme 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 public attorney also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being granted conditional release.