Nicolas Sarkozy to Be Released from Prison After 20 Days of Detention
Nicolas Sarkozy will be released from prison after spending 20 days in detention.
On Monday, the Paris Court of Appeal ordered the release of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who had been incarcerated for twenty days following his conviction in the case concerning Libyan financing of his presidential campaign.
During the morning hearing regarding his request, the public prosecutor had recommended that Sarkozy be released under judicial supervision, as he appeared via video link from La Santé prison. The court imposed an extended "contact prohibition" on him, particularly with the Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin, and restricted his travel outside of France.
Sarkozy is expected to be released today and will await his appeal trial, which is set to begin in March. The Paris Court of Appeal reviewed his request for release during a public hearing lasting about fifty minutes.
"Prison is hard, it's very hard. It is certainly so for any inmate, I would even say it is exhausting," Sarkozy stated, following the proceedings with a serious expression via video link, providing the first image in history of a former president of the Republic in prison.
He expressed gratitude towards the prison staff, saying they had shown exceptional humanity, making this nightmare, as he described it, more bearable.
"I am fighting for the truth to triumph," said the former president, 70, who has appealed his five-year prison sentence for being part of a criminal conspiracy handed down on September 25.
In the presence of his wife Carla Bruni and two of his sons, Pierre and Jean, public prosecutor Damien Brunet supported Sarkozy's request for release under judicial supervision, with restrictions on his contact with witnesses and co-defendants.
"It is clear that Mr. Sarkozy has undeniable representation guarantees, given his family ties in the territory and his known patrimonial interests," Brunet noted. "Such guarantees are rarely met at such a level before your court."
Sarkozy was incarcerated less than a month after his conviction, a remarkable detention for a former president of the Republic that has sparked intense debate. It is also a first in the European Union, where no former head of state has served time in prison.
Several right-wing officials, like Xavier Bertrand, president of LR in Hauts-de-France, have expressed their hope for their former champion's release from prison.
The Paris correctional court found him guilty of knowingly allowing his collaborators to solicit covert funding from Muammar Gaddafi's Libya for his victorious 2007 presidential campaign.
More than the conviction itself, it was the detention order sending him to prison, which is not subject to appeal, that caused shock. The judges justified it by the "exceptional gravity" of the facts. Sarkozy claimed it was motivated by "hatred."
In deciding on his release, the appellate judges did not rely on the same criteria as those for the detention order. Sarkozy's appeal places his incarceration under the criteria for pre-trial detention, which differ from those for serving a sentence.
Continued detention was only possible if it was the "only means" to protect evidence, prevent pressure or collusion, avoid flight or recidivism, or ensure his safety.
His attorney Jean-Michel Darrois assured the court that the idea of "re-offending" or "witness tampering" should be "excluded" from consideration.
"It is detention that poses a threat to Nicolas Sarkozy, not the other way around," emphasized his other lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, noting that for security reasons he had been placed in isolation and was provided protection by two agents while in custody.
Among those sentenced who were incarcerated after the September 25 ruling, the appellate court has already released former banker Wahib Nacer, 81, under judicial supervision, but has maintained the detention of intermediary Alexandre Djouhri due to flight risk and potential pressure on those involved in the case.
In their cases, the public prosecutor had requested continued detention.
The exact dates for the appeal trial, which have not yet been officially announced, are expected to be communicated to the lawyers on Thursday, according to sources close to the case.
