Sarkozy handed 5-year prison sentence over conspiracy conviction
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More news: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was handed a five-year prison sentence on Thursday, after a Paris court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy over alleged payments by the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Sarkozy’s imprisonment will be enforceable immediately, with the judge saying that Sarkozy will have a short period to get his affairs in order. Prosecutors will call on him to head to gaol within one month.
The sentencing means that even if Sarkozy appeals the conviction he will have to remain in prison.
While the court ruled that there was no proof that Sarkozy made a deal with Gaddafi, nor that money that was sent from Libya reached Sarkozy's campaign coffers, Sarkozy was guilty of criminal conspiracy for having let close aides get in touch with people in Libya to try and obtain campaign financing.
As Sarkozy left the courtroom he expressed his anger at the decision: “I will fight until my last breath to prove my total innocence,” he told reporters. “If they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, then I’ll sleep in prison, but with my head held high. I’m innocent. This injustice is a scandal.”
Former French President Sarkozy convicted of criminal conspiracy
The news: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of taking part in a criminal association after being accused of accepting illicit campaign donations from Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi when he ran for president in 2007.
The context: Sarkozy was convicted on the conspiracy charges but cleared of corruption charges by Paris judges on Thursday and now faces a possible seven-year prison term.
Sentencing is due to be announced later on Thursday and Sarkozy, who has consistently denied wrongdoing, is likely to appeal. If he appeals, sentencing will be delayed until after the appeal process is completed.
The judge ruled that the 70 year-old Sarkozy had permitted his “close collaborators” and “unofficial intermediaries” to try “to obtain or attempt to obtain financial backing for his campaign.” Those attempts included “meetings with Gaddafi’s official representatives” and “arranging transfers of public funds.”
The investigation against Sarkozy, who was President of France between 2007 and 2012, was opened in 2013, two years after the son of Gaddafi accused Sarkozy of taking millions of his father's money for campaign funding. In return, Sarkozy would allegedly assisted the dictator soften his reputation with western countries, where he was viewed as a pariah.
In 2014 a businessman said he had proof that the former President’s campaign bid was financed by Libya, and that EUR50m ($89 million) worth of payments continued after he became president.
Sarkozy has argued that he has been the victim of a smear campaign led by allies of Gaddafi after the former president led the NATO effort to overthrow the dictator in 2011.
