Former French President Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison in Libya Campaign Case
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday was sentenced to five years in prison after a Paris court found him guilty of conspiring criminally with Libya over illegal election campaign funding.
The court spared the 70-year-old the humiliation of being marched out of the courtroom by police officers by saying that the date of his incarceration will be decided later.
However, in a major surprise, the judge said that Sarkozy will be imprisoned even if he appeals.
Sarkozy was found guilty on a key charge of acquiring illegal financing from the then-Libyan government of leader Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 presidential campaign.
He reportedly took money from Libya in a criminal association plot from 2005 to 2007 to finance his campaigns in exchange for diplomatic favors.
The Paris court cleared Sarkozy of the three other charges, including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of the embezzlement of public funds, The AP reported.
Additionally, two of Sarkozy's close associates from his presidential era, former ministers Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, were also found guilty of criminal association.
