A Paris court has sentenced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison after finding him guilty of criminal conspiracy in an alleged scheme to finance his 2007 campaign with funds from Libya.

In a surprise decision, the court ruled that Sarkozy will be incarcerated even if he appeals. However, the sentencing date will be determined at a later time, sparing the 70-year-old the humiliation of being led from the courtroom in handcuffs.

### Charges and Verdict

The court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal association in a plot from 2005 to 2007 to finance his campaign with Libyan funds in exchange for diplomatic favors. However, he was cleared of three other charges, including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, and concealment of the embezzlement of public funds.

Sarkozy denounced the ruling, calling it a “scandalous injustice” and expressed his intention to appeal. “This injustice is a scandal,” he said. “I ask the French people whether they voted for me or not, whether they support me or not, to grasp what has just happened. Hatred truly knows no bounds.” He added that if he ends up behind bars, he will do so “with my head held high.”

### Associates Also Guilty

Two of Sarkozy’s closest associates during his presidency, former ministers Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, were also found guilty of criminal association but acquitted of some other charges.

The ruling suggested that the court believed the men conspired to seek Libyan funding for Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign. However, judges were not convinced that the conservative leader himself was directly involved in securing the funding or that any Libyan money was actually used in his winning campaign.

The chief judge, in an hours-long reading of the verdict, stated that Sarkozy allowed his close associates to approach Libyan authorities to obtain financial support for campaign financing. Still, the court said it could not determine with certainty that Libyan money ended up financing Sarkozy’s campaign.

Under French law, a corrupt scheme can still constitute a crime even if money was not paid or cannot be proven, the court explained.

### Courtroom Scene

Sarkozy, accompanied by his wife, singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was present in the courtroom, which was filled with reporters and members of the public. Sarkozy sat in the front row of the defendants’ seats, alongside his three adult sons.

### Background and Previous Allegations

Sarkozy was elected president in 2007 but lost his bid for re-election in 2012. He denied all wrongdoing during a three-month trial earlier this year, which also involved 11 co-defendants, including three former ministers.

Despite multiple legal scandals that have clouded his presidential legacy, Sarkozy remains an influential figure in right-wing French politics and entertainment circles, partly due to his marriage to Bruni-Sarkozy.

The accusations stem from 2011, when a Libyan news agency and Muammar Gaddafi himself claimed the Libyan state had secretly funnelled millions of euros into Sarkozy’s 2007 campaign.

In 2012, French investigative outlet Mediapart published a document it said was a Libyan intelligence memo referencing a €50 million funding agreement. Sarkozy denounced the document as a forgery and sued for defamation. The court ruled on Thursday that it now appears most likely that this document is indeed a forgery.

### Investigations and Related Cases

Investigators examined a series of trips to Libya made by people close to Sarkozy between 2005 and 2007, including his chief of staff.

In 2016, Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine told Mediapart he had delivered suitcases filled with cash from Tripoli to the French Interior Ministry under Sarkozy. He later retracted his statement. That reversal is the focus of a separate ongoing investigation into possible witness tampering.

Both Sarkozy and his wife have been handed preliminary charges related to alleged efforts to pressure Takieddine. That case has not yet gone to trial.

Takieddine, a co-defendant, died on Tuesday in Beirut at age 75. He had fled to Lebanon in 2020 and did not attend the trial.

### Allegations of Corruption Pact

Prosecutors alleged Sarkozy knowingly benefited from what they described as a corruption pact with Gaddafi’s government. Libya’s longtime dictator was toppled and killed in a 2011 uprising, ending his four-decade rule.

The trial shed light on France’s back-channel talks with Libya in the 2000s, during which Gaddafi sought to restore diplomatic ties with the West. Prior to that, Libya was considered a pariah state.

Sarkozy has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated and based on forged evidence. During the trial, he denounced the plot as staged by liars and crooks, including members of the Gaddafi clan. He suggested the accusations were retaliation for his call as president for Gaddafi’s removal.

Sarkozy questioned the credibility of these claims, stating, “What credibility can be given to such statements marked by the seal of vengeance?”

### Other Legal Troubles

In June, Sarkozy was stripped of his Legion of Honour medal—France’s highest award—after his conviction in a separate case. He was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling in 2014 for attempting to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case involving him.

He was sentenced to one year wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet and was granted conditional release in May due to his age, removing the electronic tag after just over three months.

In another case, Sarkozy was convicted last year of illegal campaign financing during his failed 2012 re-election bid. He was accused of spending nearly twice the legal limit and was sentenced to a year in prison, of which six months were suspended. Sarkozy denies these allegations and has appealed the verdict to the highest court, the Court of Cassation. The appeal is still pending.

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This landmark ruling marks a significant moment in French political and legal history, underscoring ongoing scrutiny over campaign financing and corruption allegations involving high-profile figures.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/nicolas-sarkozy-sentenced-to-five-years-in-prison-for-criminal-conspiracy-1810960.html