Former French President Sarkozy enters prison for Libya scandal

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has entered prison for obtaining illicit campaign funds from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, according to The National.

Insisting he was “innocent”, Sarkozy arrived at Paris’ La Santé prison on October 21^st to begin a five-year prison sentence, making him the very first French post-war president to be incarcerated. He has also been ordered to pay a fine of $117,000.

On September 25^th, a French court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal conspiracy in a case which concluded that he had illegally funded his victorious 2007 presidential campaign with cash from Gaddafi.

In return, Sarkozy, who subsequently served as president from 2007 to 2012, was to push a cleaner image of the Libyan dictator amongst Western political leaders to repair his prior international isolation over the alleged financing of international terrorism.

During investigations into the case, Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam confessed that he had personally supervised a total of $5 million in cash deliveries to Sarkozy’s campaign team.

The case gained considerable momentum after Ziad Takieddine, a French-Lebanese businessman who acted as a liaison between France and the Middle East, claimed that the campaign was “abundantly” financed by Gaddafi. He even revealed that Tripoli sent a further $58 million after Sarkozy won the election.

Muammar Gaddafi himself bragged that “it’s thanks to us that he reached the presidency. We provided him with the funds that allowed him to win”.

Following his sentencing, Sarkozy condemned the verdict as an “injustice” and a “judicial scandal.” As soon as he entered prison, his lawyers filed a motion for his release.

Sarkozy wrote on X ahead of his stage-managed departure from his home that “it is not a former president of the republic being jailed this morning, but an innocent man. I have no doubt. The truth will prevail.”

However, a Parisian judge ruled that Sarkozy would begin serving his time in prison without waiting for his appeal to be processed due to “the seriousness of the disruption to public order caused by the offense”, according to France24 on October 21^st.

The National, Maghrebi.org, The Guardian, France24