Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy goes behind bars on Tuesday. He will serve a five-year sentence in prison for conspiring to raise campaign funds for Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, a stunning downfall for a leader once known for his self-assurance and penchant for global attention.
He will serve his sentence in La Santé prison in Paris, where he will be separated from all other prisoners for security reasons.
The former French president left his home in Paris hand-in-hand with his wife Carla Bruni to head to La Sante prison in the capital to begin a five-year prison sentence.
People gathered in front of his residence for a support rally. Some of those gathered are holding the French flag as they attend a rally called by the sons of the former French president in support of their father, it says France24.
Just before leaving to serve his prison sentence, Sarkozy posted a message on Xu.
“An innocent man is imprisoned. I am not asking for any favors or favors. The truth will prevail,” he added.
“Welcome Sarkozy!”, “Sarkozy is here”, AFP journalists heard prisoners shouting from their cells at the moment the former president entered the prison.
Sarkozy, France’s right-wing president from 2007 to 2012, was convicted of conspiracy in late September over a plan for Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to finance his election campaign. The former center-right leader was acquitted of personally receiving money but convicted of conspiring with two close associates, Brice Hortefeux and Claude Guéant, to talk to Libyans about secret campaign financing.
In 2005, the two spoke with Gaddafi’s intelligence chief and son-in-law, at a meeting arranged by the French-Lebanese mediator Ziad Tiakeddine, who died in Lebanon shortly before Sarkozy’s conviction.
Although he appealed, Sarkozy still pleads not guilty, but was told he must go to prison given the “seriousness of the facts”.
Sarkozy is said to be carrying three books in his prison bag with clothes and 10 family photos that he can take with him. They will read The Count of Monte Cristo in two parts and the biography of Jesus Christ. The hero of the Count of Monte Cristo, the story of a man unjustly imprisoned who escapes to take revenge on his accusers.
In his cell he will have a toilet, a shower, a table and a small TV. He will be allowed one hour a day to exercise, alone.
Sarkozy has said he does not want special treatment at the notorious La Santé prison, although he is placed in an isolation ward for his own safety because other inmates are known drug dealers or have been convicted of terrorist offences.
(TIP/Source: federalna.ba)
