Nicolas Sarkozy, former President of the Republic of France, has been sentenced to three years in prison for corruption and illicit influence trafficking: two on probation, and one with an electronic bracelet under house arrest. The French Court of Cassation confirmed it, rejecting Sarkozy’s appeal.
Was definitively sentenced to three years in prison Nicolas Sarkozy, former president of the French Republic. The conviction for corruption and influence peddling was confirmed by the Court of Cassation, after the second instance sentence arrived in 2023 and the first instance sentence in 2021. Of the three years, two will be spent on probation, while one should be served with an electronic bracelet. But since Sarkozy will turn 70 in January, he will be able to ask for the bracelet to be removed.
It is an unprecedented event for a former French head of state. The judges established that the former president supported the candidacy of a magistrate for a prominent honorary position in the principality of Monaco, and in exchange obtained classified communications and interceptions concerning him directly. The magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, senior magistrate at the Court of Cassation, was also convicted.
Sarkozy, together with his longtime lawyer Thierry Herzog, allegedly convinced Azibert to pass him information and also to try to influence magistrates regarding an appeal relating to another case involving the former president. The defense had argued that there had been none influence traffickingbecause the magistrate in question had not then obtained the position. But the judges were not convinced.
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Sarkozy’s lawyers have announced that an appeal will be forthcoming European Court of Human Rights – the only one you can appeal to once all possible solutions in your country have been exhausted. Lawyer Patrice Spinosi said that this appeal “is explained by the fact that the jurisprudence of the Court itself is contrary to what was established by the French Supreme Court, which rejected Sarkozy’s appeal”.
According to the lawyer, it is “the first time in France that a person has been convicted solely on the basis of intercepted telephone communications with his lawyer”. The communications, in fact, would have taken place between Sarkozy and Herzog, while a telephone registered to Herzog’s ex-partner would have been used to speak with the magistrate Azibert. The point is that “the wiretaps between a lawyer and his client cannot be used against the customer himself, it is a rule that is part of fundamental freedoms and which justifies our appeal”, said Spinosi.
The final sentence is three years in prison, of which only two are suspended. This means that at least one year of detention should be carried out. However, the judges said that this year can be served with the electronic bracelet.
The sentence should start next month, however, when Sarkozy will have his birthday 70 years. Precisely by virtue of his age, at that point the former President of the Republic will be able to ask not to have the electronic bracelet, while remaining under house arrest.
The one concluded today is just one of the court cases involving Sarkozy. Two more are still underway. One concerns the suspicion of funding coming from Libya for his (winning) presidential campaign in 2007, and will come to court in 2025. The influence trafficking trend emerged precisely from the investigations into this. The other court case, however, has already resulted in a second degree sentence of one year in prison (of which six months with probation and six months with alternative sentences to prison) for illicit electoral financing.
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