Nicolas Sarkozy found guilty of criminal conspiracy: What we know

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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was found guilty connected Thursday of transgression conspiracy pursuing a proceedings successful which helium was accused of accepting millions of euros successful amerciable payments from the precocious Libyan ruler, Muammar Gaddafi, betwixt 2005 and 2007.

The Paris Criminal Court sentenced him to 5 years successful prison: it is the archetypal clip a erstwhile French president has received a situation sentence.

Who is Nicolas Sarkozy?

Sarkozy is the right-wing, erstwhile president of France, who served from 2007 until 2012. In 2017, Sarkozy retired from progressive politics.

From 2004 to 2007, helium was the person of the liberal-conservative Republicans party, past called the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). During that time, helium was besides curate of the interior successful the authorities of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin nether President Jacques Chirac.

He won the 2007 statesmanlike predetermination with 53 percent of the vote, beating Segolene Royal of the Socialist Party (PS).

He joined exemplary and vocalist Carla Bruni successful 2008 pursuing a wide publicised courtship portion helium was president.

Since the extremity of his statesmanlike term, Sarkozy has remained an influential figurehead for the governmental close successful France. However, helium has faced a litany of ineligible troubles, including respective trials relating to assorted corruption charges and 2 convictions, and was stripped of France’s highest award, the Legion of Honour, this year.

What was Sarkozy accused of?

In his latest trial, which began successful January this year, French prosecutors claimed that erstwhile helium was interior minister, Sarkozy made a corrupt statement to enactment Gaddafi’s authorities connected the planetary signifier successful instrumentality for financing worthy millions of euros to assistance wage for his statesmanlike campaign.

The statement was alleged to person been carried retired via a web of Libyan spies, a convicted terrorist, arms dealers and millions of euros shipped to Paris successful suitcases.

Overall, the charges helium faced successful his trial, which came aft a 10-year anticorruption probe, were:

Concealing the embezzlement of nationalist funds.
Passive corruption.
Illegal run financing.
Criminal conspiracy with a presumption to committing a crime.

Besides Sarkozy, determination were 11 different defendants, including the precocious French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine; Claude Gueant, a erstwhile adjacent adjutant of Sarkozy; Eric Woerth, Sarkozy’s erstwhile caput of run financing; and Brice Hortefeux, a erstwhile minister.

Takieddine fled to Lebanon successful June 2020 aft a French tribunal sentenced him to 5 years successful jailhouse successful a abstracted corruption case. He died earlier this week, conscionable 2 days earlier the verdict.

What has Sarkozy been recovered blameworthy of?

The Paris tribunal recovered Sarkozy blameworthy of transgression conspiracy betwixt 2005 and 2007, but acquitted him of the different charges. Sarkozy has statesmanlike immunity against prosecution for actions aft helium became president successful 2007.

The justice stated determination was nary grounds that Sarkozy struck a woody with Gaddafi oregon that funds sent from Libya ended up successful Sarkozy’s campaign, adjacent though the timing aligned and the money’s routes were “very opaque”.

However, she recovered Sarkozy blameworthy of transgression conspiracy for allowing adjacent aides to interaction Libyan individuals successful an effort to unafraid run financing.

How did the grounds against Sarkozy travel out?

The allegations archetypal came to airy successful 2011 erstwhile a Libyan quality bureau reported that the Gaddafi authorities had provided financing to Sarkozy’s 2007 predetermination campaign.

In 2014, quality transmission France 24 reported that Gaddafi had said, “Sarkozy is mentally deficient … It’s acknowledgment to maine that helium became president … We gave him the funds that allowed him to win,” during a recorded interrogation with different French broadcaster, France 3 TV.

Al Jazeera was not capable to verify these claims.

The aforesaid year, Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, told Euronews that Gaddafi’s authorities had provided run backing to Sarkozy. He said: “The archetypal happening we inquire of this clown is that helium instrumentality the wealth to the Libyan people, but helium fto america down.”

In 2012, Mediapart, a French online quality outlet, published a enactment reportedly from the Libyan concealed services from December 2006. The enactment allegedly mentioned Gaddafi’s statement to supply Sarkozy with 50 cardinal euros ($52m astatine existent speech rates) for run financing. Sarkozy claimed the papers was fake.

In 2016, French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, a co-defendant accused of acting arsenic a “middle man” but who has since died, told Mediapart that helium had delivered 5 cardinal euros ($5.2m) successful currency from Libya to Sarkozy and his erstwhile main of staff. However, Takieddine retracted this connection successful 2020, the twelvemonth helium fled to Lebanon.

What was Sarkozy’s narration with Gaddafi?

In 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gaddafi to the Elysee Palace successful Paris. But erstwhile pro-democracy protests erupted during the Arab Spring successful 2011, Sarkozy was among the archetypal Western leaders to advocator for subject involution successful Libya.

Gaddafi was killed by absorption forces supported by NATO successful 2011, ending his four-decade rule.

How has Sarkozy reacted to this week’s verdict?

On Thursday, Sarkozy claimed again that helium is guiltless and volition entreaty the five-year situation sentence, which could instrumentality contiguous effect.

The justice stated that Sarkozy volition person lone a little play to settee his affairs earlier prosecutors necessitate him to study to prison, which volition apt beryllium wrong a month.

“If they perfectly privation maine to slumber successful jail, I volition slumber successful jail, but with my caput held high,” Sarkozy said to reporters aft the ruling was announced.

What other has Sarkozy been accused of?

In October 2023, French prosecutors charged Sarkozy with witnesser tampering successful narration to this case. His wife, the exemplary and vocalist Carla Bruni, was charged with hiding grounds related to the aforesaid lawsuit the pursuing year.

Sarkozy has besides been convicted successful 2 different ineligible cases.

In December past year, the highest tribunal successful France, the Court of Cassation, upheld a 2021 conviction against Sarkozy for bribery and “influence peddling”. He was sentenced to 1 twelvemonth of location apprehension and was ordered to deterioration an physics bracelet implicit that period. This has since been removed. Sarkozy has said helium would bring this lawsuit to the European Court of Human Rights. This lawsuit was revealed done a wiretapped telephone telephone during the Libya financing investigation.

Last year, an appeals tribunal successful Paris besides upheld a condemnation for Sarkozy successful different run financing lawsuit implicit his failed 2012 re-election bid. He mislaid the 2012 statesmanlike predetermination to Francois Hollande from the Socialist Party (PS) and was alleged to person knowingly exceeded spending limits. The tribunal ruled that helium should service six months successful prison, with different six months suspended. Sarkozy has appealed against that verdict astatine the Court of Cassation.

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