The lawyer of Nicolas Sarkozy described the former French president’s first day in prison as difficult, following his five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign funds from Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
According to the French news agency AFP, in addition to the details revealed about Sarkozy’s detention conditions, two police officers have been placed in a cell next to the former president’s to intervene if necessary.
“No one could have faced the first day in prison with more strength and optimism than Sarkozy. I know he will endure and continue to fight,” said Jean-Michel Darois to Le Parisien after his visit on Tuesday afternoon. He added that “Sarkozy is not complaining.”
Gym and Reading
Providing more details about Sarkozy’s first day behind bars, his lawyer said that the former French president “worked out” and “began writing his book.”
“Prison is not Club Med,” he continued, revealing that Sarkozy was also visited by his wife, Carla Bruni, with whom he was seen holding hands before being taken to his cell. “If he worries about anything, it’s his family,” the lawyer added.
Describing the conditions of detention at La Santé prison, Sarkozy’s lawyer spoke of a “9-square-meter cell” where “there is noise, as always in a prison.”
“All prisoners make noise, they shout, scream, bang on the walls,” he said. When asked if Nicolas Sarkozy was communicating with other inmates, he replied, “No, maybe a little with the guard.”
“Given the positions he once held, he could have requested a completely different regime, but he didn’t,” the lawyer noted.
Two Police Officers Stationed Nearby
Alongside Sarkozy in prison — in the adjacent cell — are two police officers, since, as a source from the French news agency described, “there is no doubt that the security of a former president must not be compromised in any way.”
As Interior Minister Laurent Nunez explained, “This is one of the measures intended to ensure his safety, given the threats against him.”
According to Nunez, the two police officers “will remain permanently, throughout the entire period of the former president’s imprisonment and for as long as necessary,” since “there are somewhat more significant threats facing Nicolas Sarkozy.”
