The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Chronicling Three Weeks In Custody
Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a personal account next month named A Prisoner’s Diary, chronicling his time endured in custody.
The revelation came shortly following the ex-leader gained freedom while he appeals his conviction for illegal collaboration in a case to secure political financing linked to the government of the late Libyan dictator.
Time in Custody: Solitary Musings
“Inside jail visibility is limited, and activities are scarce,” he writes in one passage, implying the account is more about his reflections during seclusion rather than extensive analysis regarding the packed and troubled jail system in France.
“Quiet is absent, which is missing in La Santé, where one hears constant sound,” he continues. “The racket is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, personal reflection grows stronger behind bars.”
Freedom Plea: Recounting the Hardship
During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy was present remotely from inside the facility, describing his time inside as draining. He expressed in court: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, and who have made this difficult experience bearable – as it truly is one.”
“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s an ordeal I must endure. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It leaves a mark all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”
Unprecedented Situation
He, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, set a precedent as former head in the European Union and the first leader since WWII of France to serve time in prison.
Ahead of his incarceration he had said he would use his time to compose an account.
Reading Material
It is not certain did he manage to review and analyze the texts he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, where a blameless person is imprisoned later flees to take revenge.
Life in Confinement
Sarkozy was placed in isolation for his own security in a room of about nine sq metres including private facilities at the correctional facility in the city. Security personnel were stationed in a neighbouring cell.
Reports indicated that he consumed just yogurt in prison due to concerns any food could have been tampered with. Options were available to prepare his own meals but he turned this down, according to reports. Not known is if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.
Legal Perspective
The legal representative, who visited his client each day during the incarceration, told the release hearing his safety would improve out of prison compared to inside. “There were threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and emergency responses next door during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Charges and Sentence
His incarceration began in late October when the judiciary sentenced him to a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration related to a plan to secure campaign funds for his 2007 presidential race.
He denies wrongdoing challenging the decision, with a new trial planned for next spring.
