PARIS: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been handed a five-year prison sentence after being found guilty of involvement in an illegal campaign financing scheme linked to late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during the 2007 presidential election campaign.
According to international news agencies, this landmark ruling makes Sarkozy the first French head of state since the Second World War to face imprisonment.
The Paris court declared him guilty of criminal conspiracy, though it acquitted him of charges relating to direct corruption and the personal receipt of illicit funds. In addition to the custodial sentence, Sarkozy, aged 70, has been fined €100,000 ($117,000) and barred from holding any future public office.
Prosecutors will inform Sarkozy within a month regarding the timeline for his incarceration. Significantly, the court confirmed that even if he appeals, the conviction and sentencing will remain valid.
This case adds to Sarkozy’s growing list of legal troubles. Although he had previously been convicted in two separate cases, he managed to avoid actual jail time until now.
Following the ruling, Sarkozy emerged from court and addressed journalists, denouncing the verdict as profoundly unjust and warning that it represented a serious blow to the rule of law. He vowed to launch an appeal against the decision, reaffirming his determination to fight the charges.
The presiding judge, in a strong statement, described the crimes as “exceptionally grave” and as acts that had severely undermined public trust in democratic institutions. However, the court did not uphold the prosecution’s argument that Sarkozy personally benefited from the illegal funding received.
