Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will be released from prison today, having served just three weeks of a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy.
The 70-year-old, who led France between 2007 and 2012, will remain under judicial supervision pending an appeal hearing over the conviction, a Paris court ruled.
He will be banned from leaving the French territory, the court said, and could be required to wear an electronic tag while living at home with wife Carla Bruni. He may also have to provide bail money and check in regularly with the authorities as part of the arrangement.
“It's one step,” a lawyer for Sarkozy told reporters of the decision. “The next step is the appeal trial.”
In September, Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal conspiracy over the efforts of aides to find funding for his 2007 presidential bid from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. He was acquitted of all other charges, including corruption and receiving illegal campaign funding.
He was sent to the notorious La Sante prison in Paris on 21 October, where he was mocked by other prisoners, and his lawyers immediately pleaded for his release.
Interviewed from prison via videolink on Monday, Sarkozy said prison was “very hard” and “exhausting” for him. He has consistently denied wrongdoing and has called himself a victim of revenge and hatred.
“I had never imagined I would experience prison at 70. This ordeal was imposed on me, and I lived through it. It's hard, very hard,” he said. “I would even say it's gruelling”.
During a fifty-minute hearing, Sarkozy again proclaimed his innocence.
“I will never confess to something I didn't do,” he said, adding: "I am fighting for the truth to prevail.”
His wife, the Italian-French singer Carla Bruni, and his two eldest sons, came together for the hearing this morning. Bruni arrived in all black and donned a pair of sunglasses. The sons, Pierre and Jean, returned home ahead of the verdict.
Just after 1.30 p.m. local time (12.30 GMT), the president of the appeals court said: "The court declares the application for release admissible and places you under judicial supervision.”
Sarkozy was banned from contacting the Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin, under the terms of his release.
The former head of state will still have to face an appeal trial, expected to take place next year.
Under French law, release is the general rule pending appeal. He could only be held under pre-trial detention if alternatives, like being placed under house arrest, were deemed unviable.
Judges had to weigh whether Sarkozy presented a flight risk, might pressure witnesses, or could obstruct justice.
His case was bolstered by the public prosecutor who recommended that the former president be freed under strict judicial supervision, with a ban on contact with other indicted individuals and witnesses involved in the proceedings.
A lower court argued in September that Sarkozy should go to jail, even if he appealed, due to the “exceptional gravity” of the case.
As he was jailed on 21 October, Sarkozy shared an emotional goodbye with his wife and waves to crowds of supporters. Reporters heard convicts shouting “Welcome, Sarkozy!” to the former president as he arrived at La Santé.
His legal team revealed they had submitted a request for parole moments after he entered the prison.
Investigators believe that Sarkozy promised to help restore the international image of former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi in return for help with funding.
Libya was implicated in the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, which killed 270 people.
The court convicted Sarkozy of criminal conspiracy over the plan, but it did not establish that he received or used funds for his presidential campaign.
Sarkozy is separately under formal investigation in another case for being accessory to witness tampering.
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