Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will start serving his sentence on October 21, RTL reports, citing its sources.
“He will be detained on October 21 at the Santé prison in Paris, which has a section for vulnerable prisoners, to ensure their safety“, the publication states.
On September 25, a Paris court sentenced Sarkozy to five years in prison in the case of Libyan financing of his election campaign.
It is noted that his lawyers will be able to file an application for the former president's release with the Court of Appeal. The court has a maximum of two months to consider the application. Therefore, if the request is granted, Sarkozy could be released before Christmas.
The investigation began in 2012 after Mediapart published documents alleging that the Libyan government had transferred €50 million to Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign.
In 2016, French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine revealed that in late 2006 and early 2007 he had delivered suitcases containing €5 million in cash from Libya to the French Interior Ministry, which Sarkozy then headed. He claims to have given the money twice to Sarkozy's chief of staff, Claude Gueant, and once to the presidential candidate himself.
In 2018, the former French leader was charged with corruption, illegal campaign financing, and concealment and misappropriation of Libyan public funds.
In November 2020, Takieddine withdrew his accusations against Sarkozy.