The Former French President Preparing to Release Jail Diary Detailing Three Weeks In Custody

The ex-president of France will soon publish a book this autumn called Diary of a Prisoner, chronicling his time endured in custody.

The announcement came just 11 days following the ex-leader gained freedom while he contests his conviction related to criminal conspiracy connected to efforts to secure political financing provided by the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi.

Time in Custody: Solitary Musings

“In prison one sees little, with little to occupy time,” he notes in an extract, suggesting the memoir centers around his musings during seclusion instead of extensive analysis regarding the strained and crisis-hit French prison system.

“Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist at the prison, where there is endless commotion,” he continues. “The din persists relentlessly. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world is fortified in prison.”

Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal

At his release request hearing, Sarkozy was present remotely from a room in prison, characterizing his incarceration as exhausting. He had told the court: “I must acknowledge those working in the jail, who are exceptionally humane, easing this difficult experience bearable – since it’s deeply troubling.”

“It never crossed my mind that in my seventies, I would end up incarcerated. It’s a hardship forced upon me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, extremely tough. It affects one every inmate due to its intensity.”

First of Its Kind

He, who led the nation for a five-year term, set a precedent as past president of an EU country and the initial post-WWII figure from France to serve time in prison.

Prior to imprisonment he mentioned he intended to spend the period to write a book.

Cell Library

It remains unclear if he found the opportunity to read and critique the volumes he took into prison: a biography of Jesus in two parts plus the novel by Dumas the famous story, in which a blameless person is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek vengeance.

Daily Reality

Sarkozy was placed in solitary confinement due to safety concerns in a cell of about nine sq metres featuring a personal bathroom at the correctional facility in the city. Two bodyguards were stationed in the next cell.

Sources mentioned his diet consisted just yogurt during his stay worried that meals provided might have been spat on. Options were available to prepare his own meals yet he declined, as per accounts. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about meals during incarceration.

Legal Perspective

Sarkozy’s lawyer, who visited his client daily during the incarceration, informed the court his safety would improve released compared to inside. “There were death threats, heard shouts after dark and the urgent intervention in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.”

Case Background

He entered custody on 21 October following a French court gave him a five-year sentence on conspiracy charges over a scheme to acquire political donations for his 2007 presidential race.

He disputes the charges and has appealed against the verdict, with a new trial planned for the coming spring.