Nicolas Sarkozy will be placed on probation from today: this was decided by the Paris Court of Appeal, accepting his request for release after detention that began on October 21 in connection with Libyan fund affairs. The former President of the Republic will leave Santé prison today.
The prosecutor’s office has requested the release and probation of Nicolas Sarkozy, with prohibition on contact with other defendants and witnesses in the Libyan affair. The prosecutor’s office determined that “the seriousness of the facts and the severity of the sentence” should not influence the decision, which must be based “solely on the criteria of article 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code”. The article lists unique conditions that justify temporary detention: the risk of tampering with evidence and contact with other defendants.
A decision by the Paris Court of Appeal is expected today, which will examine the first request for release made by former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. In September, a lower court found the right winger guilty. head of state from 2007 to 2012, for attempting to obtain funds from Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya for the campaign leading to his election, and sentenced him to five years in prison.
The French justice system will give its opinion today at 13.30 regarding the request for probation of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, currently detained in La Santé prison in Paris in the case of alleged Libyan funding of the 2007 presidential campaign: this is what the newspaper Le Figaro wrote.
The 70-year-old went to prison on October 21, becoming the first former European Union head of state to be jailed, and his lawyers immediately called for his release. The Paris Court of Appeal will hear the request this morning, and Sarkozy will appear via videoconference, and is expected to make a decision the following day.. If the court approves his request, he could be released immediately.
On September 25, the court of first instance decided that Sarkozy would be sent to prison because the “extraordinary severity” of the sentence. But the appeal means that Sarkozy is now again presumed innocent and the court will then assess the need for preventive detention.
Under French law, he can only be detained if no other way is found to safeguard evidence, prevent manipulation of witnesses, prevent him from fleeing or reoffending, or to protect him. Otherwise, Sarkozy will be released under court supervision and possibly placed under house arrest with an electronic ankle bracelet.
”I want us to be sure of one thing: I never thought it would be crazy to ask Mr. Gaddafi for any financing. I will never admit to something I didn’t do”: the former French president said this at a hearing in Paris regarding his request to be released from La Santé prison. ”I respond to all calls carefully. I cannot imagine reaching the age of 70 to experience prison. This test was imposed on me: I underwent it. Difficult, very difficult”. And again: “Exhausting”, “nightmare”.
“I want to pay tribute to the prison staff who showed extraordinary humanity and who made this nightmare bearable”: the former president said this at a hearing requesting his release from La Santé prison in Paris, where he is being held.
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