HIBAPRESS
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will enter prison the day after tomorrow, Tuesday, in Paris, in an exceptional event that is the first of its kind for a former president in the European Union countries, after a ruling was issued sentencing him to five years in prison on charges of obtaining illegal funding from Libya for his 2007 election campaign.
Sarkozy confirmed upon leaving the criminal court in Paris after the ruling was issued on September 25: “I will bear my responsibilities and I will comply with the judiciary’s summons, and if they really want me to sleep in prison, I will do so with my head held high, because I am innocent.” His lawyers announced that they would submit a request for temporary release as soon as he entered prison. It is expected that Sarkozy will spend his detention period in one of the 15 cells allocated for solitary confinement in the “La Santé” prison, with an area of nine square meters, with the aim of ensuring his safety and preventing photographs of him from being taken on mobile phones, according to informed sources. The system includes allowing him to go for a walk once a day and use the sports halls and library under strict supervision. Sarkozy denies any responsibility for the Libyan funding, and compared himself to the most prominent “innocent” convicts in French history, such as Alfred Dreyfus and Edmond Dantès. His son Louis called on the masses via the "X" platform to be present near his father's house to support him on Tuesday morning. The judges raised astonishment in the courtroom by issuing an order to commit him to prison at the same time as the conviction for “criminal conspiracy,” citing the “seriousness of the exceptional facts,” although the appeals court has not yet issued its ruling. Investigations revealed that Sarkozy allowed those close to him while he was Minister of the Interior, namely Brice Hortefeux and Claude Guéant, to communicate with Muammar Gaddafi to obtain illegal funding, through meetings with Abdullah al-Senussi, the director of Libyan intelligence. Despite the lack of certainty that the money actually reached Sarkozy's campaign, the court believed that there was a movement of money “with the aim of financing the campaign.” The appeals court has the right to consider the request for temporary release within two months, with the possibility of accelerating the procedures, while Sarkozy will face temporary isolation according to the solitary confinement system, which guarantees him protection and limits his contact with the rest of the prisoners.
