Paris court is deciding whether to release former President Sarkozy from prison

PARIS: A Paris appeal court examined Monday the request for release of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from prison, less than three weeks after he began serving a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.
The ruling is expected in early afternoon.
Sarkozy, 70, became the first former French head of state in modern times to be sent behind bars after his conviction on Sept. 25. He denies any wrongdoing. He was jailed on Oct. 21 pending appeal but immediately filed for early release.
During Monday's hearing, Sarkozy, speaking from Paris' La Santé prison via video conference, argued he has always met all justice requirements.
"I had never imagined I would experience prison at 70. This ordeal was imposed on me, and I lived through it. It’s hard, very hard,” he said.
Sarkozy also paid tribute to prison staff who he said helped him through “this nightmare." Sarkozy’s wife, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of his sons, attended the hearing at the Paris courthouse.
Monday’s proceedings didn’t involve the motives for the sentencing.
Still, Sarkozy told the court he never asked Libya’s longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi for any financing. “I will never admit something I didn’t do,” he said.
Under French law, release is set to be the general rule pending appeal, while detention remains the exception. Judges will weigh whether Sarkozy presents a flight risk, might pressure witnesses, or could obstruct justice.
Advocate General Damien Brunet, who represents the public interest, asked for Sarkozy to be released and placed under judicial supervision.
If the request is granted, Sarkozy could leave Paris’ La Santé prison within hours.
An appeal trial is expected to take place later, possibly in the spring.
The former president, who governed from 2007 to 2012, faces separate proceedings, including a Nov. 26 ruling by France’s highest court over illegal financing of his failed 2012 reelection bid, and an ongoing investigation into alleged witness tampering in the Libya case.
In 2023, he was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling for trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated. France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, later upheld the verdict.