Paris, Dec 10, (dpa/GNA) – Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, has recounted his brief stint in prison earlier this year in a book called “Diary of a Prisoner,” published on Wednesday.
The memoir describes the 70-year-old’s time as prisoner number 320535 in cell 11 of La SantĂ© prison in Paris, where he was held for almost three weeks, after receiving a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy, related to alleged campaign funding from the late Libyan dictator Moamer Gaddafi.
After what he described as a “gruelling” stay, Sarkozy was released on parole last month, while he awaits an appeal trial under judicial supervision.
The 200-page book expresses his outrage at ending up behind bars, and his firm conviction of his innocence.
It also reveals some details of the cell where Sarkozy stayed in a specially secured area of the prison: “Twelve square metres. A bed securely fastened to the wall with reinforced panels. A small desk made of light-coloured wood, a shower, a refrigerator, a hotplate and a television.”
Sarkozy was not expecting a pleasant stay, noting before he entered the cell: “My future neighbours are either Islamist terrorists, rapists, murderers or drug dealers. A charming prospect.”
He said noises from other prisoners, some of whom he said “did not seem to have an optimal mental balance,” kept him up at night.
A visit from his wife Carla Bruni provided a “ray of hope,” as did watching football team Paris Saint-Germain play Leverkusen from his cell.
Sarkozy also devoted many pages to the so-called Libya affair and the trial against him, saying the judiciary spent years doggedly pursuing the accusation that illegal money had flowed into his 2007 presidential campaign without any solid evidence.
GNA