Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison after the Parisian court found him guilty of a criminal offense in the case of the criminal offense of the euro of illegal funds from the late Libyan leader of Momer Gaddafi.
Sarkozy, who always denied all charges, was charged with the conclusion of Gaddafi 2005. year, when he was the French interior minister, in order to obtain the financing of the campaign in exchange for the support of the then isolated Libyan government on the international scene.
Released from corruption charges but guilty of conspiracy
The judge has released Sarkozy from other charges, saying that there was no evidence that Sarkozy had ever made such an agreement with Gaddafi, nor that the money sent from Libya came to Sarkozy’s election campaign. But she said that Sarkozy was guilty of a criminal conspiracy because she allowed close associates to get in touch with people in Libya to try to get a campaign financing.
The trial of the former French president is lasting since January, and Sarkozy argued that it was a case politically motivated.
The verdict means that Sarkozy will go to prison independently if he complained about her. Judge also ordered Sarkozy to pay a fine of 100,000 euros.
Sarkozy announced an appeal
Sarkozy re-stated on Thursday that he was innocent and that he would complain about the court decision. “If they really want to sleep in prison, I’ll sleep in jail, but raised heads,” Sarkozy told reporters after the verdict.
Seventy-year-old Sarkozy was French president since 2007. until 2012.
Investigation and charges
The investigation was opened in 2013, two years after Saif Al-Islam, the son of the then Libyan leader, the first time accused Sarkozy that he took millions of his father to finance the campaign.
Lebanese entrepreneur Ziad Takieddine, who has long been between France and the Middle East, has been writing next year that Sarkozy’s campaign was “abundantly” financed by Tripoli, that the payments of 50m euros continued after became the president.
Earlier legal problems
Ever since he lost in the 2012 presidential elections, Sarkozy became a target of several criminal investigations.
Also, he appealed the verdict from February 2023. Which was found guilty of excessive spending for his 2012 campaign, and then hiring a public relations company in order to cover it up. A single-year prison sentence was determined, from which six months were conditional.
In 2021, he was found guilty of trying to bribery Judge 2014. And he became the first former French president who received a prison sentence.
The Paris Appeals Court ruled in December that he can serve his sentence at home so he wears an electronic bracelet.
(Type / Source: HINA / PHOTO: FENA / EPA)
