PARIS: A Paris court has sentenced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy related to alleged Libyan funding of his 2007 presidential campaign.
The court ordered that Sarkozy be taken into custody at a later date, with prosecutors given one month to inform the former head of state when he should begin his sentence.
This custody measure will remain in force even if the 70-year-old former president appeals Thursday’s verdict against him.
Should Sarkozy ultimately go to prison, he will become the first president in the history of modern France to be jailed.
The court also imposed a fine of 100,000 euros (USD 117,000) and banned him from holding public office.
Sarkozy has previously been convicted in two separate trials but avoided prison each time, serving one sentence with an electronic tag that has since been removed.
The former president retains the options of appealing the verdict or requesting parole based on his age.
Presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino described the offences as being of “exceptional gravity” and “likely to undermine the confidence of citizens.”
Another defendant, Alexandre Djouhri, accused of acting as an intermediary in the scheme, received a six-year sentence with immediate arrest.
Sarkozy’s right-hand-man Claude Gueant and former minister Brice Hortefeux were sentenced to six years and two years respectively.
Hortefeux, 67, will be permitted to serve his term with an electronic tag while Gueant, 80, will avoid prison due to his health condition.
The court convicted Sarkozy on charges of criminal conspiracy while acquitting him of corruption and accepting illegal campaign financing.
Judges also stated there was no proof that money from late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi was ultimately used in his campaign. – AFP
