After three weeks spent in prison, Nicolas Sarkozy is asking to be released. The decision, expected today
Nicolas Sarkozy surrendered on October 21 at La Santé prison: Thibault Camus / AP / Profimedia
A Paris court will decide on Monday whether former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be released from prison, less than three weeks after he began serving a five-year sentence, AP reports.
Sarkozy, aged 70, became the first former French head of state in the modern era to be sent behind bars after the conviction received on September 25, notes News.ro.
He was imprisoned on October 21 pending the appeal, but he immediately submitted a request for release.
According to French law, detention pending an appeal should be exceptional. Judges will assess whether Sarkozy presents a flight risk, could pressure witnesses or obstruct justice.
If his request is approved, Sarkozy could leave La Santé prison in Paris within hours under judicial supervision.
According to Reuters, if the court decides to release him, Sarkozy could be required to wear an electronic monitoring device, deposit a sum of money or report periodically to the authorities.
The former president, who led the country between 2007 and 2012, denies the accusations and claims that he is the victim of a “plot” linked to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
He has been in detention for almost three weeks in the Santé prison in Paris after being sentenced to five years in prison with execution, having been found guilty of participating in a criminal organization linked to the financing of his victorious campaign in 2007, when Sarkozy and those close to him actively tried to obtain financial support from the Libyan Gaddafi regime.
Sarkozy also faces other legal proceedings, including a Nov. 26 ruling by France's Supreme Court on illegal financing of his failed 2012 re-election campaign and an ongoing investigation into alleged witness tampering in the Libya case.
