Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was on Thursday sentenced to a five-year prison for criminal conspiracy, the first time a former head of state has been sent to prison in modern French history.
The case is related to him and his aides allegedly making a corruption pact with the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in return of receiving funding for the 2007 French presidential election campaign.
According to The Guardian, head judge, Nathalie Gavarino, handed down a special form of sentence that means Sarkozy, 70, will have to serve a prison term even if he appeals. She justified the conviction and sentencing on the grounds the offences were of “exceptional gravity” and “likely to undermine citizens’ trust.”
Sarkozy, France’s
rightwing president from 2007 to 2012, has also been ordered to pay a €100,000 (Rs103,57,300) fine.
However, the start of Sarkozy’s sentence will be set at a later date, with prosecutors given a month to inform him when he should go to prison.
After the ordered was announced, the former President, who had denied all wrongdoings in court, said he would launch an appeal against the verdict, reiterating: “I am innocent; this justice is a scandal.”
Later, he told reporters: “What happened today … is of extreme gravity in regard to the rule of law, and for the trust one can have in the justice system.”
He said: “If they absolutely want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep in jail, but with my head held high.”
“Those that hate me this much think they will humiliate me,” said Sarkozy. “But what they have humiliated today is France, the image of France.”
Meanwhile, the Paris criminal court acquitted him of all other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing, BBC reported.
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