Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy Freed After Three Weeks in Jail
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy walked out of Paris’s La Santé prison on Monday afternoon, three weeks into a five-year sentence for allegedly conspiring to fund his 2007 presidential campaign with money from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, according to BBC News.
A Paris court approved his early release under strict judicial supervision. Sarkozy, 70, is barred from leaving France and from contacting witnesses or justice ministry officials connected to the so-called “Libyan dossier” ahead of an appeal trial expected in March.
Moments after his car was seen leaving the prison, Sarkozy returned to his home in western Paris. In a statement posted to social media, he said his “energy is focused solely on the single goal of proving my innocence,” adding, “The truth will prevail. The end of the story is yet to be written.”
Christophe Ingrain, one of Sarkozy’s lawyers, called the court’s decision “a step forward,” promising to prepare for “the battle ahead.”
During his incarceration, Sarkozy was held in solitary confinement in an isolation wing, with modest accommodations, a desk, a small stove, a shower, and a television for which he paid €14 a month. He described the experience as “gruelling” and “a nightmare,” yet praised prison staff for their “exceptional humanity.”
His wife, singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of his sons attended the hearing that granted his release.
Sarkozy’s imprisonment marked the first time since World War II that a former French leader had served time behind bars, the last being Philippe Pétain, jailed for treason in 1945.
Despite his legal troubles, Sarkozy has maintained his innocence throughout years of investigations into alleged corruption and influence-peddling. “I would never admit to something I haven’t done,” he told the court. “Never.”
