Nicolas Sarkozy to be released from prison pending appeal, French court rules

A Paris appeals court has agreed to the early release of former President Nicolas Sarkozy from prison, ordering him to be placed under "judicial supervision" pending his appeal.

The decision comes less than three weeks after he began serving a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.

Local broadcaster BFMTV says Sarkozy will be relased from Paris' La Santé prison later on Monday.

One of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Jean-Michel Darrois, said that being in prison had been "very hard for him," adding that his detention had "caused him great suffering."

Another of Sarkozy's legal team, Christophe Ingrain, argued that Sarkozy would be safer out of prison than inside.

Sarkozy, 70, became the first former French head of state in modern times to be sent to prison after his conviction on 25 September.

He was jailed on 21 October pending appeal but immediately filed for early release. He denies any wrongdoing.

During Monday's hearing, Sarkozy, speaking from Paris' La Santé prison via video conference, argued he has always met all justice requirements.

"I had never imagined I would experience prison at 70. This ordeal was imposed on me and I lived through it. It’s hard, very hard," he said.

Sarkozy also paid tribute to prison staff who he said helped him through "this nightmare."

Sarkozy's wife, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of his sons attended the hearing at the Paris courthouse.

The Monday proceedings did not involve the motives for the sentencing. Sarkozy still told the court he never asked Libya's longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi for any financing.

"I will never admit something I didn't do," he said.

Under French law, release is the general rule pending appeal, while detention remains the exception. Judges will weigh whether Sarkozy presents a flight risk, might pressure witnesses or could obstruct justice.

An appeal trial is expected to take place later, possibly in the spring.

The former French president, who was in office from 2007 to 2012, faces separate proceedings, including a 26 November ruling by France's highest court over illegal financing of his failed 2012 re-election bid and an ongoing investigation into alleged witness tampering in the Libya case.

In 2023, he was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling for trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated. France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, later upheld the verdict.