French Court Upholds 3-Year Sentence Of Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy In Corruption Case

A French court on Wednesday upheld the three-year sentence of former President Nicolas Sarkozy in a corruption case.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy

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A French court of appeals on Wednesday upheld a prison sentence of three years, including two suspended, against former president Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence peddling, reported AFP. The 68-year-old leader was also banned from public office for three years for seeking to obtain information about a legal investigation from a judge via a secret telephone line that was discovered through wiretapping. Sarkozy was France's President from 2007 to 2012. 

According to Reuters, the court said that two of those years were suspended and that Sarkozy would wear an electronic bracelet instead of going to jail for the remaining year. 

Reuters reported that Sarkozy arrived in court wearing a dark grey suit and appeared to be ‘nervous’. 

Notably, a lower court in 2021 had found Sarkozy guilty of trying to bribe a judge after leaving office. The court held that Sarkozy peddled influence in exchange for confidential information about an investigation into his 2007 campaign finances. However, Sarkozy has constantly denied any wrongdoing. 

According to France 24, the court found that Sarkozy and his former lawyer, Thierry Herzog, had formed a "corruption pact" with a judge, Gilbert Azibert, to obtain and share information about a legal investigation. 

To probe the case, the investigators had wiretapped Sarkozy's two official phone lines. They discovered that he had a third unofficial one taken out in 2014 under the name "Paul Bismuth", through which he communicated with Herzog.  

It was the contents of these phone calls that led to his conviction in 2021. Sarkozy then contested the accusations and immediately appealed against his conviction. 

France 24 reported that the prosecutor's office had requested that Sarkozy, Herzog and Azibert each be handed a three-year suspended sentence. They also demanded that Sarkozy and Azibert, 76, to be suspended from public office and Herzog, 67, to be banned from practising law, each for five years.