Nicolas Sarkozy to Pen Jail Diary Documenting His 20 Days Behind Bars
Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a book this autumn titled A Prisoner’s Diary, chronicling the period spent behind bars.
This news emerged less than two weeks after the ex-leader gained freedom as he contests the court ruling on charges of illegal collaboration in a case to obtain election campaign funds from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi.
Life Behind Bars: Personal Reflections
“Behind bars visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he notes in one passage, implying the account will focus on his reflections from isolation as opposed to extensive analysis regarding the strained and troubled French prison system.
“I forget silence, not present in La Santé, where one hears constant sound,” he states. “The din persists relentlessly. But, just like the desert, personal reflection is strengthened in prison.”
Court Appearance: Recounting the Hardship
While appealing for release, the former leader had appeared by video link from inside the facility, describing his time inside as gruelling. He had told the court: “I wish to commend to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, easing this nightmare manageable – as it truly is one.”
“I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It has an impact every inmate due to its intensity.”
Unprecedented Situation
He, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, was the first past president of an EU country and the initial post-WWII figure in the French Republic to be incarcerated.
Ahead of his incarceration he mentioned he would use his time for authoring a memoir.
Cell Library
It remains unclear did he manage to go through the three books he took into prison: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work the classic tale, where a wrongfully accused individual ends up incarcerated but escapes to seek vengeance.
Prison Conditions
He was held secluded to protect him in a cell approximately nine square meters including private facilities at La Santé prison in the city. Two bodyguards were stationed in a neighbouring cell.
Sources mentioned that he had eaten just yogurt during his stay worried that meals provided may have been contaminated. Although he had access for self-catering but he turned this down, according to reports. Unclear remains if he will detail what he ate in prison.
Lawyer’s Statements
His attorney, who visited his client each day while he was in prison, stated during proceedings his safety would improve released rather than in custody. “There were threats against his life, listened to yells at night plus rapid actions in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”
Charges and Sentence
His incarceration began last month when a French court sentenced him to a five-year sentence on conspiracy charges related to a plan to obtain campaign funds for his presidential bid.
He maintains his innocence and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial planned for early next year.
