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The former French president has declared that his time behind bars has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a plan to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge proceeded.

Historical Significance

Sarkozy, who served as France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

The former president told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit 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 has an impact on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

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

Defense Lawyers Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and courageous man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, 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 adjacent room 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 placed in isolation for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and toilet. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Reports 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 prepare his own meals but refused this.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week shared a recording of piles of letters, cards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a sweet treat and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is imprisoned but breaks out to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, 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 accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption 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 a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.