UPDATED: Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to 5 years in prison
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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to 5 years in prison after being found guilty in a case relating to whether his 2007 presidential campaign received illicit donations from Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
While Sarkozy will walk out of court on following the Thursday verdict, it is only to leave him time to prepare for his sentencing and get his professional affairs in order before formal sentencing. The 70-year-old had been to expected to avoid immediate prison time by appealing the verdict, which would have pushed back sentencing until after the appeal trial.
However, the presiding judge in the case, Nathalie Gavarino, ruled that the seriousness of the charges warranted Sarkozy’s imprisonment regardless of an appeal.
Should Sarkozy end up behind bars, he would be the first modern French president ever to do so. His predecessor Jacques Chirac received a suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of corruption.
Sarkozy found guilty of taking part in a criminal association but was cleared of corruption charges after Gavarin found that he had permitted his “close collaborators” and “unofficial intermediaries” to try “to obtain or attempt to obtain financial backing for his campaign” for the presidency between 2005 and 2007.
Those attempts included “meetings with Gadhafi’s official representatives” and “arranging transfers of public funds.”
Nine defendants were convicted alongside Sarkozy while just three were acquitted.
Sarkozy has repeatedly professed his innocence and claimed to be the victim of a smear campaign coordinated by Gadhafi’s allies after the former French president led the NATO effort to overthrow the Libyan dictator in 2011.
Sarkozy was joined in court by his wife, Carla Bruni, and three sons: Pierre, Jean and aspiring politician Louis. While the conservative has had repeated run-ins with the law since leaving office — including one corruption case in which he was found guilty and has exhausted his appeals — the Libyan case contained the most egregious charges and heaviest potential penalties.
