Fmr French President Sarkozy sentenced to five years in prison
Nicolas Sarkozy who served as the President of France between 2007 and 2012 has been found guilty of criminal conspiracy.
The 70-year old former President was found guilty of criminal conspiracy, but on the charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, and concealing the embezzlement of public funds, he was not found guilty.
The court case which lasted 3 months in Paris centered on the alleged illegal financing of Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential election campaign by the Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi.
Reports say Sarkozy has decided to appeal the verdict.Though an appeal usually suspends sentencing, the judge said he would be jailed regardless of whether he appeals the verdict. He was however not sent straight to prison, as the commencement date of his sentence was yet to be decided.
Addressing reporters outside the court on Thursday Sarkozy said: “This injustice is a scandal. I ask the French people – whether they voted for me or not, whether they support me or not – to grasp what has just happened. Hatred truly knows no bounds.”
He stated that the ruling undermined confidence in the French justice system, promising to fight till the end to prove his innocence.
“If they absolutely want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep in jail, but with my head held high,” he added.
The verdict centered on the former President conspiring to seek Libyan campaign funding alongside his codefendants, though he was not personally involved.
The judge however said Sarkozy had allowed his associates to reach out to Libyan authorities “to obtain or try to obtain financial support in Libya for the purpose of securing campaign financing”.
According to reports, Sarkozy was stripped of his Legion of Honour medal, France’s highest accolade, due to his involvement in multiple court cases, earlier this year.
In 2021, he was found guilty of trying to bribe a magistrate for information about a legal case in which he was implicated in 2014.
In 2024 he was convicted of illegal campaign financing during his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid.
Sarkozy has however managed to remain a prominent figure in French politics despite his records.
