Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Former conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared in court on Monday, seeking to overturn a guilty verdict for charges of bribery and influence-peddling handed to him by a lower court.
Sarkozy was sentenced to three years in prison by a Paris court in March last year, together with his former attorney Thierry Herzog and judge Gilbert Azibert, in a case that was tied to another investigation into Sarkozy’s wrongdoings.
Sarkozy reportedly attempted to persuade judge Azibert to provide him with details of an investigation into his dealings with the L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt during his 2007 election campaign, when he was elected president. The investigators suspected he might have received illegal payments from Bettencourt at the time, breaching France’s strict campaign financing laws.
The police recorded conversations between Herzog and Sarkozy, and established that he promised Azibert he would intervene to secure the judge a coveted post in Monaco in return for details of the Bettencourt investigation, which Azibert provided. Even though he never got the posting in the end, the prosecutors argued that French law makes no distinction between a successful corruption attempt and a failed one.
Sarkozy was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison, two of which were to be suspended. Judge Christine Mee said Sarkozy “took advantage of his status and the relationships he had formed,” though she signaled willingness not to send him to jail at all, ordering him instead to wear an electronic tag during his sentence. With his appeal, the execution of the sentence has stayed.
On Monday, Sarkozy told the appeals court he was there to “defend his honor, which has been violated,” claiming he did nothing. “I am a former president of the republic, I have never corrupted anyone. Am I a serious offender because I’m calling…my lawyer and friend,” asked Sarkozy.
The appeals court is scheduled to rule on his appeal by 16 December and will review both his verdict and the sentence handed out. Sarkozy is the second former French President, and second from the center-right political option, to be convicted of corruption, with his predecessor Jacques Chirac having been found guilty of the same crime in 2011.
Sarkozy was also found guilty in a separate case in September last year, for illegally financing his 2012 reelection campaign, which he eventually lost to socialist François Hollande. According to the verdict, Sarkozy was aware that the costs of his campaign exceeded almost twice the legal limit of 22.5 million euro well in advance. He was sentenced to a year in prison, which the court allowed him to serve at home while wearing an electronic tag.
