Former French president Sarkozy released from prison pending appeal
A Paris court on Monday granted the early release of former President Nicolas Sarkozy of France from prison pending an appeal of his conviction in a campaign finance scandal, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Sarkozy was the first former head of state to be jailed in more than a half-century in France, and his case set off fierce debates in the country about fairness and judicial independence.
He was convicted in September of conspiring to seek funding for his 2007 presidential campaign from the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan former strongman. Sarkozy began serving his sentence on Oct. 21 at La Santé, a prison in southern Paris, at which point his lawyers submitted a request for an early release, pending an appeal of the conviction.
On Monday, the Paris Court of Appeal agreed to grant Sarkozy early release from prison and place him under judicial supervision.
The terms of that supervision will bar Sarkozy from traveling abroad, and from contacting people involved in the case or French justice officials, the court heard.
Sarkozy, wearing a navy suit and a sweater, appeared in court by video link from prison alongside two lawyers. Before the court made its decision, the former president had declared his innocence and said incarceration had been “very hard.”
“I would even say it’s grueling,” he told the court, later calling his experience “a nightmare.”
His wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of his sons attended the hearing in person. Dozens of journalists were also present.
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