Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is set to walk free just 20 days into his five-year prison term, after a Paris judge on Monday ordered his release pending a full appeal hearing over
allegations he sought illegal campaign financing from Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya.
Prosecutors, who earlier in the day urged the court to grant Sarkozy’s request, said the former head of state should be freed under judicial supervision. Sarkozy, 70, has described his brief incarceration as a “nightmare.”
Sarkozy was convicted in September of attempting to obtain funds from Gaddafi’s regime for his 2007 presidential run. Despite filing an appeal, the lower court had ordered him jailed immediately, citing the “exceptional gravity” of the offense. He became the first former leader of an EU member state to be imprisoned when he entered La Santé prison on October 21.
Appearing via video link on Monday, dressed in a dark blue jacket and flanked by his lawyers, Sarkozy called the experience “grueling.”
“It’s hard, very hard, certainly for any prisoner. I would even say it’s grueling,” he told the court, adding that the prison staff had shown “exceptional humanity” and helped make the ordeal “bearable.”
His wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of his sons attended the hearing.
Under French law, a defendant awaiting appeal is presumed innocent. Judges may authorize detention only if necessary to protect evidence, prevent pressure on witnesses, stop flight or reoffending, or ensure security. Prosecutor Damien Brunet said those risks could be mitigated without keeping Sarkozy behind bars.
Sarkozy was expected to be released later Monday from his specially protected wing at La Santé, where two bodyguards occupied a neighboring cell. The arrangement has drawn criticism from prison unions, though Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez defended it as necessary given the former president’s status and potential threats.
His detention has also stirred political tensions. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin visited Sarkozy in prison last month, despite warnings from France’s top prosecutor that such a gesture could undermine judicial independence ahead of the appeal.
Sarkozy is the first French leader jailed since Philippe Pétain, the wartime head of the Vichy regime.
A video posted last week on Sarkozy’s social media accounts showed piles of letters, postcards and care packages he has received since entering prison. Supporters gathered outside his home on the day of his incarceration, singing the national anthem and calling on him to “come back quick.”
A long list of legal troubles
Sarkozy has faced sustained legal scrutiny since losing re-election in 2012. He has already been convicted in two separate cases: one for corruption and influence peddling — for which he served time under house arrest with an electronic monitor — and another case involving alleged overspending in his 2012 campaign, which France’s top court is expected to rule on later this month.
The “Libyan case” centers on investigators’ belief that Sarkozy’s aides negotiated an illicit funding deal with Gaddafi in 2005 to support his bid for the presidency. In exchange, prosecutors say, Sarkozy was expected to help rehabilitate the Libyan leader’s international standing following deadly airline bombings in 1988 and 1989.
Although the court concluded Sarkozy was part of a criminal conspiracy, judges did not find that he ultimately received or used Libyan funds in his campaign.
Sarkozy’s appeal is scheduled for March. Photo by Richard Pichet, Wikimedia commons.