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Former President Sarkozy: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of illegal fundraising from abroad and has also been sentenced to five years in prison by the court.
Former President Sarkozy : The court has sentenced former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to 5 years in prison in a 2007 case. He will be the first President of the country to serve a jail sentence. It is being told that the former President’s five-year sentence in La Sainte prison in Paris may begin from Tuesday. While going to jail, Sarkozy said that an innocent man was being put in jail. He will be kept in a special cell, which is colloquially called VIP section and he will serve his sentence in solitude. Sarkozy was accused of raising illegal funds from the government of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi during the presidential elections in 2007 and a case was started against him in this case. At the same time, when he was found guilty on Thursday, the court also sentenced him at the same time.
Found guilty of providing diplomatic benefits
At the same time, the court said that the quantum of his sentence will not be decided yet and this step has been taken by the court to save 70-year-old Sarkozy from the humiliation of being sent to jail directly from the courtroom by the police officers. The court found Sarkozy guilty of supporting a conspiracy to raise money for his election campaign in exchange for diplomatic benefits from Libya between 2005 and 2007. Apart from this, while giving the verdict, the court also said that Sarkozy will start cutting the prison equipment without waiting for the hearing of his appeal. At the same time, keeping the security arrangements in mind, Sarkozy will be kept separate from the other prisoners.
The date of serving the sentence has not been decided yet
The court acquitted Sarkozy of the other three charges, mainly illegal election campaign financing, corruption and concealing the embezzlement of public funds. The court said that no concrete evidence has emerged as to whether the money coming from Libya was actually used during the election campaign or not. But corruption will remain a crime. Let us tell you that the judge read his verdict against the former President for about an hour. Apart from this, when the court was sentencing Sarkozy, his wife Carla Bruni, who was sitting in the court room, remained stunned in the court. This is the first time in the history of France when a former President has been convicted of taking donations in an election campaign. Let us tell you that Nicolas Sarkozy held the post of President of France from 2007 to 2012. By that time he had become one of the most popular presidents.
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