The Former French President to Pen Jail Diary Detailing Three Weeks In Custody
The ex-president of France will soon publish a personal account this autumn titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period served in jail.
This news was made less than two weeks following Sarkozy was released as his appeal proceeds the guilty verdict on charges of illegal collaboration regarding a scheme to secure election campaign funds from the government of the late Libyan dictator.
Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts
“In prison one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he notes in one passage, indicating the book will focus on his thoughts during seclusion as opposed to a broader observation of the packed and crisis-hit jail system in France.
“I forget silence, which is missing at the prison, where there is endless commotion,” he continues. “The din is alas constant. But, just like the desert, one’s inner world grows stronger while incarcerated.”
Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal
During his plea for freedom, the former leader had appeared by video link from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He stated to the judge: “I must acknowledge to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who helped make this nightmare tolerable – because it is a nightmare.”
“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s a hardship I must endure. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It leaves a mark every inmate because it’s gruelling.”
Historical Context
The former president, who led the nation from 2007 to 2012, became the inaugural past president from the EU and the first postwar leader in the French Republic to be incarcerated.
Ahead of his incarceration he mentioned he would use his time to compose an account.
Books in Prison
It is not certain whether he had time to read and critique the volumes he brought with him: a life story of Jesus spanning two books plus the novel by Dumas the classic tale, a plot where a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail later flees to seek vengeance.
Life in Confinement
He remained in isolation due to safety concerns in a room of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at La Santé prison located in the capital. Security personnel occupied a neighbouring cell.
Sources mentioned that he consumed just yogurt in prison worried that any food could have been tampered with. He had facilities to cook for himself but he turned this down, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain if he will detail what he ate in prison.
Lawyer’s Statements
The legal representative, who visited his client each day during the incarceration, informed the court he would be safer released than inside. “There were menacing messages, heard shouts at night plus rapid actions in an adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed.”
Legal Proceedings
He entered custody on 21 October after the judiciary gave him a half-decade term for illegal collaboration over a scheme to secure political donations during his election campaign.
He maintains his innocence and has appealed against the verdict, and another court case set for the coming spring.
