Nicolas Sarkozy to Pen Jail Diary Detailing His 20 Days Incarcerated
The ex-president of France plans a book this autumn called Diary of a Prisoner, detailing the period served in custody.
The announcement was made shortly after the former president left prison as he appeals his conviction related to illegal collaboration in a case to secure election campaign funds linked to the government of the late Libyan dictator.
Prison Experience: Inner Thoughts
“Inside jail one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he notes in one passage, implying the account is more about his thoughts while in isolation instead of a broader observation on the strained and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country.
“Quiet is absent, which is missing in that facility, where one hears constant sound,” he states. “The racket unfortunately never stops. However, akin to empty spaces, personal reflection is fortified in prison.”
Freedom Plea: Describing the Ordeal
During his plea for freedom, the former leader was present remotely from inside the facility, characterizing his incarceration as draining. He expressed in court: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, showing great humanity, easing this nightmare tolerable – as it truly is one.”
“I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d find myself behind bars. It’s a hardship that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It affects one every inmate as it’s exhausting.”
Unprecedented Situation
He, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, became the inaugural former head from the EU and the initial post-WWII figure from France to serve time in prison.
Prior to imprisonment he had said he intended to spend the period for authoring a memoir.
Cell Library
Unconfirmed is did he manage to review and analyze the volumes he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, where an innocent man ends up incarcerated later flees to exact retribution.
Prison Conditions
He was held in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a room roughly 100 square feet with his own shower and toilet at the correctional facility located in the capital. Two bodyguards were stationed in the next cell.
Reports indicated that he consumed solely dairy snacks while inside due to concerns prison cuisine could have been tampered with. Options were available to prepare his own meals yet he declined, based on unnamed sources. Not known is if he will detail his dietary choices.
Defense Viewpoint
His attorney, Christophe Ingrain each day throughout the jail term, informed the court security would be better out of prison rather than in custody. “He received threats against his life, listened to yells after dark and emergency responses in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Legal Proceedings
He entered custody last month after the judiciary gave him a five-year sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to acquire election financing for his 2007 presidential race.
He maintains his innocence challenging the decision, and another court case is scheduled for the coming spring.