Sarkozy was sentenced to three years in prison, two of them suspended, for corruption and influence peddling. Although he will be able to appeal or serve his sentence at home, he is the first former president to be sentenced to jail.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced this Monday (1.03.2021) to three years in prison for corruption and influence peddling. The Paris Correctional Court specified that two of those years in prison are exempt from compliance and that the third, of firm imprisonment, can be converted into house arrest or surveillance with an electronic bracelet.
The court also sentenced the former president’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, to a similar sentence, who additionally imposed five years of disqualification from practicing law, as well as high magistrate Gilbert Azibert.
The penalties are somewhat lower than what the Prosecutor’s Office had claimed, which was asking for two firm years in prison against the three defendants.
Corruption pact
The judges considered it proven that there was a corruption pact to benefit Sarkozy’s judicial interests in other cases opened after his departure from the Elysee in 2012.
These actions came to light in telephone conversations intervened by the police in 2014, between Sarkozy and his lawyer, in which it emerged that they had contacted Azibert, then a member of the Supreme Court, to obtain information about another case against the former president. in exchange for helping the magistrate secure a post in Monaco.
The sentence includes the “particular gravity” of the crime committed by Sarkozy due to his condition as former president, who “used his position and his relationships” for “his personal interest”, which discredits a position that, by the Constitution , grants him the balancing power of Justice.
Lawyers offending
In addition, the verdict picks up, Sarkozy, now the first former president tenant sentenced to jail time, should have been aware of the infractions committed due to his status as a lawyer by training.
The verdict was also harsh against Herzog, one of the most renowned lawyers in Paris, and against Azibert, whom he accused of “discrediting a profession whose function is basic in democracy.”
The historic conviction of Sarkozy, who can appeal the sentence, comes two weeks before another process is opened in which the former president is involved, that of the alleged irregularities about the financing of his campaign for the 2012 presidential elections.
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