French court frees former president Nicolas Sarkozy from jail, pending appeal

Ex-leader set to go free 20 days after beginning 5-year sentence over a scheme to secure campaign funds from Gaddafi’s Libya, with appeal meaning he’s again presumed innocent

PARIS (AFP) — Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was set to be freed from prison Monday as a judge ordered his release pending an appeal hearing over Libyan funding.

During the examination of Sarkozy’s request in court earlier Monday, prosecutors had requested Sarkozy, 70, be freed after 20 days in jail that the former president called a “nightmare.”

A lower court in September found the right-wing politician — who was head of state from 2007 to 2012 — guilty of seeking to acquire funding from Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya for the campaign that saw him elected, and sentenced him to five years behind bars.

He entered jail on October 21, becoming the first former head of a European Union state to be incarcerated, and his lawyers swiftly sought his release.

Sarkozy was expected to be released from La Sante prison in Paris later Monday.

The appeal hearing is due to take place in March.

During the court hearing earlier Monday, the former leader appeared via video call from prison, wearing a dark blue jacket and flanked by lawyers, saying being incarcerated was “grueling.”

“It’s hard, very hard, certainly for any prisoner. I would even say it’s grueling,” he said.

He thanked the prison staff, who he said “showed exceptional humanity and made this nightmare — because it is a nightmare — bearable.”

Prosecutor Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be granted.

“The risks of collusion and pressure on witnesses justify the request for release under judicial supervision,” he said.

In the courtroom, showing their support, were his wife, the singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of the former president’s sons.

The lower court in late September ordered Sarkozy to go to jail, even if he appealed, due to the “exceptional gravity” of the conviction.

But the appeals case means that Sarkozy is now presumed innocent again, and the court therefore evaluated his need for pre-trial detention.

Under French law, he can only be kept behind bars if no other way can be found to safeguard evidence, prevent witness tampering, stop him from escaping or reoffending, or to protect him.

Piles of letters

In La Sante prison, the former president was separated from the general population with two bodyguards occupying a neighboring cell to ensure his safety.

Prison wardens have said the move is an insult to their profession, but Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has said it is necessary in view of his “status” and “the threats against him.”

Sarkozy late last month also received a visit from Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, despite warnings from France’s top prosecutor Remy Heitz that it risked “undermining the independence of magistrates” before the appeal hearing.

Sarkozy is the first French leader to be incarcerated since Philippe Petain, the Nazi collaborationist head of state, who was jailed after World War II.

His social media account last week posted a video of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been sent to him, some including a collage, a chocolate bar or a book.

On the day he entered jail, a large crowd sang the national anthem outside his home and urged him to “come back quick.”

Legal woes

Sarkozy has faced a flurry of legal woes since losing his re-election bid in 2012, and has already been convicted in two other cases.

In one, he served a sentence for graft — over seeking to secure favors from a judge — under house arrest while wearing an electronic ankle tag, which was removed after several months.

In another, France’s top court is set later this month to rule over accusations of illegal campaign financing in 2012.

In the so-called “Libyan case,” prosecutors said his aides, acting in Sarkozy’s name, struck a deal with Gaddafi in 2005 to illegally fund his victorious presidential election bid.

Investigators believe that in return, Gaddafi was promised help to restore his international image after Tripoli was blamed for the 1988 bombing of a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, and another over Niger in 1989, killing hundreds of passengers.

The court convicted Sarkozy of criminal conspiracy over the plan. But it did not conclude that he received or used the funds for his campaign.