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The former French president has stated that his period of incarceration has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

The former leader, dressed in a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers 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 nightmare.”

Context of the Legal Situation

The former president entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign 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 conviction, he had to go to prison while the appeals process proceeded.

Historical Importance

Sarkozy, who served as 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.

Personal Statement

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 forced upon 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 testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and courageous man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted 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 asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

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

Accounts suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but declined the offer.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week posted a video 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 correspondence will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

The former leader took into prison a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

The accused maintained his innocence and said he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three separate charges of corruption, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the allegations of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and lost France’s top honor, the national recognition.

Sarkozy 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 influence peddling. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He had the device for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.