Former French president Sarkozy sentenced to five years in prison
Nicolas Sarkozy (photo: Getty Images)
A Paris court has found former French president Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of conspiracy over financing his election campaign with Libyan funds and sentenced him to five years, BFM TV reports.
On other counts in the same case – embezzlement of public funds, passive corruption, and violation of campaign financing rules – Sarkozy was acquitted. The sentence will be announced later. The prosecution had previously demanded seven years of imprisonment for the politician.
Sarkozy, 70, denies all charges. He led France from 2007 to 2012 and, in 2011, actively supported the military intervention in Libya, which ended with the overthrow and killing of Gaddafi.
This is not the first sentence for the former president. In March 2021, he was convicted of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced to three years in prison, of which he served one year. At that time, the punishment was replaced with an electronic bracelet and partial house arrest.
In the autumn of the same year, Sarkozy was again convicted – for illegal financing of the 2012 campaign - and received a six-month prison sentence, with the possibility of it being replaced by a fine.
