Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for criminal conspiracy

Accused of obtaining illegal funding from Libya’s dictator Muhammar Gaddafi

Libyan Dictator Muhammar Gaddafi (left), Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy (right)

Paris (France) – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined Rs 92 lakh for criminal conspiracy. Sarkozy has declared the verdict unconstitutional. He said , “He will challenge the verdict in High court.” This case pertains to illegal funding obtained by Sarkozy from then dictator Muhammar Gaddafi to gain victory in 2007 presidential election. The court acquitted Sarkozy of corruption, among other charges. Nicolas Sarkozy was president of France from 2007 to 2012. It is for the first time in modern French history, that a former president is sentenced to prison.

1. Sarkozy conspired with close associates to obtain money from Libya for the 2007 election campaign, but it could not be proved that the money was used for his campaign. So he was acquitted of other charges like corruption.

2. Sarkozy denied all the accusations, saying, “The accusations by the Gaddafi family are vindictive in nature”. In 2011, Sarkozy justified military intervention to dethrone Gaddafi, which overthrew his regime and killed him”. The Gaddafi family made allegations against me to avenge this, Sarkozy said.

3. Three former ministers and 11 others were also named as accused in the case. Claude Guent, a former interior minister in the Sarkozy government, was sentenced to 6 years in prison; but due to his ill health, he will not be serving the sentence. Former minister Brice Hortepheu was sentenced to 2 years, which he may serve at home.