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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was released from prison on Monday after spending 20 days there, describing the experience as a “nightmare,” as a judge ordered his release while awaiting a decision on his appeal regarding Libyan funding.
Sarkozy left La Sante prison in Paris just before 3 pm (1400 GMT) on Monday. The 70-year-old former leader, who insists he is innocent, was seen departing in a car with tinted windows, accompanied by police motorcyclists.
In September, a lower court found the right-wing politician, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, guilty of attempting to obtain funding from Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya for his election campaign and sentenced him to five years in prison.
He began serving his sentence on October 21, becoming the first former head of state of a European Union member country to be imprisoned, and his legal team quickly sought his release.
As the appeals process commences, Sarkozy is once again presumed innocent. During the court’s consideration of Sarkozy’s release request earlier on Monday, prosecutors recommended that he be freed ahead of the appeal trial scheduled for March. Christophe Ingrain, a member of Sarkozy’s defence team, celebrated his client’s release as “a step forward.”
Since losing his bid for re-election in 2012, Sarkozy has confronted numerous legal challenges, including two prior convictions.
In one case, he served a sentence for corruption related to attempts to obtain favours from a judge while under house arrest, wearing an electronic ankle monitor that was removed after several months.
Additionally, France’s highest court is expected to make a ruling this month regarding allegations of illegal campaign financing in 2012.
Regarding the “Libyan case,” prosecutors stated that aides acting on Sarkozy’s behalf brokered a deal with Gaddafi in 2005 to secure illegal funding for his successful presidential campaign.
Investigators suspect that in exchange, Gaddafi was offered assistance in improving his international reputation after being linked to the 1988 bombing of a plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, and another one over Niger in 1989, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of passengers.
The court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal conspiracy in relation to the scheme, but did not determine whether he received or used the funds for his campaign.
