Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was used to pressure from the judicial system during his trial for financing his 2007 election campaign, but did not expect to be sentenced to an actual sentence with immediate execution.
„I was prepared for everything, but not for this, I admit. Things went even further than I could have imagined; all the limits of the rule of law were violated. "Even in its strict demands, the National Financial Prosecutor's Office did not ask for this!", the former head of state said in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche.
He added that he did not understand the reason for imposing a sentence without a stay of appeal, nor the court's justification for this measure, citing the "risk of disturbing public order" if he remained at large. The politician stressed that the court had not found any irregularities in his tax returns for the past 20 years and assured that he had no intention of fleeing the country or running for president again. Sarkozy believes that the only reason for such a harsh sentence could be the desire to be humiliated, but he believes that the judicial system has only "humiliated France" in the eyes of the international community.
The politician stressed that even the court hearing the case had acknowledged that the Mediapart publication about the financing of his election campaign by the Libyan government, which probably initiated the investigation, was “most likely false“ and was not included as evidence. Sarkozy called the efforts and resources spent on proving his guilt “astonishing“. The former president cited hundreds of hearings before dozens of different committees, constant detentions and interrogations, as well as increased financial monitoring of the assets of his entire family.
“What remains? The accusation of complicity in a “criminal group“ was added at the last minute by the investigating judges at the very end of the investigation, when they realized that their case was more than fragile. And even this so-called “criminal group“ does not stand up to scrutiny, as the accusation is based on a simple hypothesis of the court, unsupported by any evidence“, Sarkozy said, emphasizing that he was acquitted of all other charges.
Sarkozy said he considers himself innocent and will continue to seek confirmation of this in court. For now, he is ready to go to prison if necessary, and has no intention of asking for a pardon from the current head of state, Emmanuel Macron. Sarkozy explained that a pardon can only be requested if he admits guilt.
Sarkozy, who was president of France from 2007 to 2012, was found guilty on September 25 of complicity in a criminal group in the case of financing his election campaign from Libya, but was acquitted of charges of concealing the embezzlement of public funds and passive corruption. The court found no evidence of illegal campaign financing in 2007. Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison. He has 10 days to appeal the court's decision. The appeal will not suspend the first-instance court's decision and the former president will remain in custody in any case.
In May 2012, eight days before the second round of the French presidential election, Mediapart reported that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (1969-2011) had donated 50 million euros to Sarkozy for campaign expenses. As evidence, the agency published on its website a decree authorizing the distribution of the funds, signed by Moussa Koussa, secretary of the General People's Committee for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Libya. The court found that this decree was a forgery.