Category: general

Sarkozy to be put in solitary confinement – media

Convicted of campaign-funding irregularities, the ex-president has become the first French leader in modern history to serve prison time Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, convicted of criminal conspiracy in a scheme to get funds for his 2007 election campaign, will serve his prison term in solitary confinement, AFP has reported. On September 25, a Paris court sentenced Sarkozy, 70, to five years behind bars over a 2005 plot to obtain secret campaign funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. According to the court, he offered to help restore Libya’s standing in international affairs in return for the payments. The presiding judge cited the “exceptional gravity” of the offense in ordering that the ex-president be jailed even if he appeals. President of France from 2007 to 2012, Sarkozy has become the first former leader of an EU member state to be jailed. His sentence is likely to begin on Tuesday.