I can’t accept being condemned for something I didn’t do

Sarkozy was sentenced to three years in prison, two suspended and one effective, in a landmark decision that also gave him the opportunity to serve his sentence at home with an electronic bracelet.

Prosecutors called for Sarkozy, 66, to be sentenced to four years in prison, including two closed, for having tried corruption of a judge in 2014 with a highly coveted post in exchange for information on a procedure against him.

The former right-wing president, who ruled France between 2007 and 2012, insisted on his innocence:“I can’t accept being sentenced for something I haven’t done.”

Her lawyer, Jacqueline Laffont, announced that she planned to appeal the conviction and, in the interview, Sarkozy also hinted at a possible appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Sarkozy was convicted of trying, with the help of his lawyer in 2014, know the secrets of Gilbert Azibert’s research, then judge general at the Court of Cassation, on a separate case related to the financing of his campaign. In return, the president would have offered his support to apply for a post in Monaco.

As reported by local media, the judge said Sarkozy “forged a corruption pact“with his lawyer and the judge with whom he undermined judicial independence, a crime of “extraordinary gravity”.

Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, and Azibert himself were sentenced under the same conditions as the former president, although Herzog was also excluded from practicing law for five years.

Asked how the first few hours after his conviction unfolded, Sarkozy said he was “with the family, watching a series”, and although he made it clear that he was not angry because ” it’s been a while”, “the profound and shocking injustice of the proceedings” directed against him “over the past ten years”.

“I have also maintained my determination for the triumph of law and justice, as should happen in a rule of law. Whenever these rules are ridiculed, as is the case in this case, my outrage and my determination are multiplied by ten, ”he claimed.

He also revealed that he had received “numerous testimonies of support from French and foreign observers” and said he knew he was “in a long struggle”.