A Paris court on Thursday sentenced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison after finding him guilty of criminal conspiracy tied to accusations that late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi helped fund his 2007 election campaign.
The ruling makes Sarkozy, 70, the first former head of state in modern France to be jailed. The court ordered prosecutors to notify him within a month of when he must report to prison. The measure will remain in force even if he appeals. He was also fined €100,000 ($117,000) and banned from holding public office.
Presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino described the offences as being of “exceptional gravity” and “likely to undermine the confidence of citizens.”
Sarkozy, who has already faced two previous convictions but avoided time behind bars, insisted on his innocence.
“I am innocent. This injustice is a scandal. I will not accuse myself of something I did not do,” he told reporters after the verdict. Still, he pledged to comply with the ruling: “If they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison but with my head held high.”
Other defendants were also sentenced. Businessman Alexandre Djouhri, accused of serving as intermediary in the scheme, received six years and was ordered into immediate custody. Sarkozy’s close ally Claude Guéant was sentenced to six years but will not serve time due to his health, while former minister Brice Hortefeux received two years, which he will serve under electronic surveillance.
The court cleared Sarkozy of corruption and illegal campaign financing, ruling there was no proof that Libyan funds were ultimately used in his campaign. However, the conspiracy conviction marks the latest in a string of legal troubles that have dogged his post-presidency years.
Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, remains a polarizing figure in French politics. His fall from power, worsened by the 2008 financial crisis and a humiliating 2012 election defeat, has now culminated in an unprecedented prison sentence for a French former president.