PARIS — A Paris court will rule Monday on whether to release former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from prison, just 20 days after he was incarcerated following his conviction for criminal conspiracy in a scheme linked to Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign.

Sarkozy, 70, became the first former president in modern French history to serve actual prison time when he was taken into custody on Oct. 21.

He was sentenced on Sept. 25 to five years in prison, though his legal team is appealing the verdict and has filed for early release.

Monday’s hearing will determine whether Sarkozy qualifies for conditional release under Article 144 of the French criminal code, which states that pre-appeal release should be the norm unless there is a risk of flight, witness tampering, or danger to the public.

His lawyers are expected to present assurances that he will comply with judicial supervision. If approved, he could leave La Santé prison within hours.

What Sarkozy was convicted of
Judges ruled that as interior minister and later presidential candidate, Sarkozy helped prepare “corruption at the highest level” between 2005 and 2007 by seeking campaign funding from Libya’s then-leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The court found that Sarkozy’s allies — including Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux — held clandestine meetings with Abdullah al-Senoussi, Gadhafi’s brother-in-law and intelligence chief, who had been convicted in France for orchestrating deadly airline bombings in the 1980s.

While the court said a complex financial network linked Libya to Sarkozy’s circle, it did not find evidence proving that any funds were used directly in the 2007 campaign.

Why Sarkozy says it’s a “plot”
Sarkozy insists he is innocent and claims he is the target of a political vendetta by individuals tied to the Libyan regime — what he calls the “Gadhafi clan.” He argues the allegations were retaliation for his 2011 push, as president, for international military intervention against Gadhafi during the Arab Spring.

He also notes he was cleared of three other charges in the case — passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, and concealing the embezzlement of public funds — and stresses that no direct financial link to his campaign was established.

Monday’s ruling is only one of several legal challenges facing Sarkozy.

France’s Court of Cassation will rule Nov. 26 on his separate conviction for overspending on his failed 2012 re-election campaign — a case in which he received a one-year prison sentence, half of it suspended.

He remains under investigation in another case tied to alleged witness tampering in the Libya financing affair. His wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, was also given preliminary charges in 2023.

Sarkozy was previously convicted of corruption and influence peddling in 2021 and again on appeal in 2023 for attempting to bribe a magistrate. He served part of that sentence under electronic monitoring.

The former president, who governed France from 2007 to 2012, continues to deny wrongdoing across all cases. — Agencies