Nicolas Sarkozy Preparing to Release Jail Diary Documenting Three Weeks In Custody
Nicolas Sarkozy will soon publish a book this autumn called Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his time endured in custody.
The announcement came less than two weeks after the former president was released while he appeals the court ruling on charges of unlawful coordination connected to efforts to secure political financing from the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi.
Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts
“Inside jail one sees little, and activities are scarce,” he notes in one passage, implying the memoir centers around his musings during solitary confinement as opposed to a broader observation on the strained and troubled jail system in France.
“I forget silence, not present in La Santé, where noise is endless commotion,” he states. “The din unfortunately never stops. But, just like the desert, inner life grows stronger behind bars.”
Freedom Plea: Sharing the Struggle
During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy was present remotely from inside the facility, depicting prison life as gruelling. He expressed in court: “I wish to commend the correctional officers, showing great humanity, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”
“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a trial I must endure. I confess it’s hard, deeply straining. It has an impact all who experience it due to its intensity.”
Unprecedented Situation
He, the ex-head of state from 2007 to 2012, became the inaugural former head in the European Union and the initial post-WWII figure from France to serve time in prison.
Ahead of his incarceration he had said he intended to spend the period to write a book.
Reading Material
Unconfirmed is whether he had time to go through the three books he had in his cell: a biography of Jesus in two parts plus the novel by Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo, in which a wrongfully accused individual is sentenced to jail later flees to exact retribution.
Daily Reality
He was held in isolation due to safety concerns in a room approximately nine square meters with his own shower and toilet in the Paris jail located in the capital. Guards stayed in an adjacent room.
Reports indicated that he consumed only yoghurts during his stay worried that prison cuisine may have been contaminated. He had facilities to cook for himself but refused this, based on unnamed sources. It is uncertain whether Sarkozy will write about his dietary choices.
Legal Perspective
The legal representative, who saw him regularly every day throughout the jail term, told the release hearing security would be better outside jail than inside. “He has faced menacing messages, heard shouts after dark and emergency responses in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed.”
Charges and Sentence
Sarkozy went to prison last month when a French court imposed a half-decade term for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain campaign funds during his election campaign.
He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, and a fresh trial planned for the coming spring.