Nicolas Sarkozy to Pen Prison Memoir Chronicling His 20 Days Incarcerated
Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a personal account in the coming weeks titled Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his experience served behind bars.
The revelation emerged less than two weeks after the former president gained freedom as he appeals the guilty verdict related to illegal collaboration in a case to acquire presidential race money from the government of the late Libyan dictator.
Time in Custody: Inner Thoughts
“Inside jail one sees little, and nothing to do,” he reflects in an extract, suggesting the book will focus on his musings from seclusion rather than extensive analysis on the packed and struggling French prison system.
“Silence escapes me, not present in that facility, where noise is constant sound,” he adds. “The din is alas constant. However, akin to empty spaces, personal reflection is fortified while incarcerated.”
Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal
During his plea for freedom, he had appeared via screen from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, showing great humanity, and who helped make this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”
“It never crossed my mind that at 70 years of age, I would end up incarcerated. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It has an impact all who experience it because it’s gruelling.”
Unprecedented Situation
He, who served as France’s president from 2007 to 2012, set a precedent as ex-leader from the EU and the initial post-WWII figure of France to serve time in prison.
Prior to imprisonment he mentioned he intended to spend the period for authoring a memoir.
Cell Library
It remains unclear did he manage to review and analyze the texts he had in his cell: a two-volume biography of Jesus and Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo, in which an innocent man is imprisoned then breaks out to seek vengeance.
Life in Confinement
The former leader was placed in solitary confinement to protect him in a space approximately nine square meters including private facilities at the correctional facility in the city. Guards were stationed in the next cell.
Reports indicated that he had eaten just yogurt while inside due to concerns any food may have been contaminated. Although he had access to prepare his own meals but refused this, according to reports. Not known is if the memoir includes what he ate in prison.
Lawyer’s Statements
His attorney, who visited his client daily throughout the jail term, informed the court his safety would improve outside jail rather than in custody. “There were threats against his life, heard shouts after dark and emergency responses in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Case Background
Sarkozy went to prison in late October following a Paris court sentenced him to a half-decade term for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to secure election financing for his presidential bid.
He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, with a new trial set for the coming spring.
