The Former French President Preparing to Release Jail Diary Chronicling Two Dozen Days In Custody
Nicolas Sarkozy is preparing a book next month titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts his experience endured behind bars.
The revelation came less than two weeks after the ex-leader was released as he appeals his conviction on charges of criminal conspiracy in a case to acquire election campaign funds provided by the government of Muammar Gaddafi.
Life Behind Bars: Inner Thoughts
“Inside jail one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he writes in a preview, suggesting the book centers around his musings while in solitary confinement as opposed to a broader observation on the packed and troubled French prison system.
“Silence escapes me, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where one hears constant sound,” he adds. “The noise persists relentlessly. However, akin to empty spaces, personal reflection is fortified while incarcerated.”
Court Appearance: Describing the Ordeal
During his plea for freedom, Sarkozy participated by video link from a room in prison, describing his time inside as draining. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute those working in the jail, showing great humanity, and who helped make this nightmare tolerable – as it truly is one.”
“I never imagined that in my seventies, I’d be in prison. It’s a trial forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark every inmate due to its intensity.”
Historical Context
The former president, who led the nation for a five-year term, was the first former head of an EU country and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to be incarcerated.
Ahead of his incarceration he had said he planned to utilize the opportunity for authoring a memoir.
Cell Library
Unconfirmed is whether he had time to go through the three books he had in his cell: a life story of Jesus spanning two books and Alexandre Dumas’s novel the famous story, where an innocent man ends up incarcerated later flees to seek vengeance.
Life in Confinement
He was placed in solitary confinement to protect him in a room of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at the correctional facility in Paris. Two bodyguards occupied an adjacent room.
It was stated his diet consisted only yoghurts in prison because he feared any food could have been tampered with. Options were available for self-catering but he turned this down, as per accounts. Not known is whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison.
Lawyer’s Statements
Sarkozy’s lawyer, who saw him regularly each day during the incarceration, stated during proceedings security would be better released compared to inside. “He received menacing messages, listened to yells at night and the urgent intervention next door during an inmate’s self-injury.”
Charges and Sentence
Sarkozy went to prison last month when a French court imposed five years in prison for criminal conspiracy in connection with efforts to acquire election financing for his presidential bid.
He disputes the charges and is contesting the ruling, and another court case set for the coming spring.
