PARIS (AP) — Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived at a jail in Paris on Tuesday to start serving a 5-year sentence for a felony conspiracy to finance his 2007 election marketing campaign with funds from Libya.
He’s the primary ex-leader of recent France to be imprisoned.
Sarkozy, hand-in-hand together with his spouse Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, left residence earlier than getting right into a police automobile and touring to jail.
On his strategy to jail, Sarkozy mentioned in an announcement launched on social media that “an innocent man” was being locked up.
Sarkozy’s legal professionals mentioned a request for launch has been instantly filed.
He was convicted final month for felony conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election marketing campaign with funds from Libya.
Sarkozy contests each the conviction and a decide’s uncommon choice to incarcerate him pending attraction. His journey from the presidential Elysée Palace to the infamous La Santé jail in Paris has captivated France.
Minutes earlier than coming into jail, Sarkozy and his spouse walked slowly to hitch his kids and grandchildren exterior his residence. He waved at a crowd of supporters gathered within the high-end Paris neighborhood the place he lives, then acquired into his automobile.
Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto by way of Getty Photographs
A whole lot of supporters applauded and chanted “Nicolas, Nicolas” and sang the French anthem. Two French flags had been held on a close-by fence, with the inscriptions: “Courage Nicolas, return soon” and “true France with Nicolas.”
Sarkozy’s sons and daughter — Jean, Pierre, Louis and Giulia — and his grandchildren confirmed up on the gathering.
Parisian resident Michelle Perié, 67, mentioned she got here in help “because there is anger, injustice.”
“He’s not like any other defendants, he’s someone who holds state secrets, he’s someone who has always done his job with his head held high. We don’t understand,” she mentioned.
Embattled centrist President Emmanuel Macron hosted the conservative Sarkozy on the presidential palace final week. “I have always been very clear in my public statements about the independence of the judiciary in my role, but it was normal on a human level to receive one of my predecessors in this context,” Macron mentioned Monday.
Sarkozy’s legal professionals mentioned the previous president will likely be held in solitary confinement, the place he will likely be avoided all different prisoners for safety causes.
Sarkozy’s lawyer Christophe Ingrain mentioned on BFM TV that incarceration “strengthens his determination, it strengthens his rage to prove that he is innocent.” Ingrain mentioned Sarkozy is planning to write down a e book about his jail expertise.
Jean-Michel Darrois, one other of Sarkozy’s legal professionals, mentioned on Tuesday that the previous president acquired himself “mentally prepared” to be held in solitary confinement, the place he could be avoided all different prisoners for safety causes.
“First, he packed a bag with a few sweaters because it’s cold in prison, and earplugs because it’s very noisy,” Darrois mentioned on France Information information broadcaster. “Isolation like what he’s going to go through is painful, but he got himself prepared.”
“I’m not afraid of prison. I’ll hold my head high, including in front of the doors of La Santé,” Sarkozy advised La Tribune Dimanche newspaper. “I’ll fight till the end.”
The paper mentioned Sarkozy has his jail bag prepared with garments and the ten household images he’s allowed to convey.
Sarkozy additionally advised Le Figaro newspaper that he would convey three books — the utmost allowed — together with Alexandre Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo,” by which the hero escapes from an island jail earlier than in search of revenge.
The Paris decide dominated that Sarkozy would begin to serve jail time with out ready for his attraction to be heard, because of “the seriousness of the disruption to public order caused by the offense.”
Underneath the ruling, the 70-year-old Sarkozy will solely be capable to file a request for launch to the appeals courtroom as soon as he’s behind bars, and judges will then have as much as two months to course of it.
AP journalists Angela Charlton, Oleg Cetinic and Nicolas Garriga contributed.
