PARIS, October 21. /TASS/. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised in a written statement to continue denouncing "the judicial scandal" that has led to his detention.
"I will continue to denounce this judicial scandal and the grueling ordeal I have endured for over ten years," Sarkozy said in a statement posted on his X page. According to the former president, the case against him was initiated based on a document whose falsity has been proven.
"This morning, I feel deep sorrow for France, which has been humiliated by this act of vengeance that has brought hatred to an unprecedented level. I have no doubt that truth will prevail. But the price we will have to pay is enormous," Sarkozy emphasized.
On Tuesday, Sarkozy, who served as French president in 2007-2012, was placed in Paris’ La Sante prison to serve a five-year sentence in a case involving Libyan funding of his 2007 election campaign. On September 25, he was found guilty of complicity in a criminal conspiracy in the Libyan funding case but was acquitted of charges of concealing the embezzlement of public funds and passive corruption. However, the court did not prove that the 2007 election campaign was illegally financed.
In May 2012, eight days before the second round of the presidential election, the Mediapart news agency reported that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (1969-2011) had allocated 50 million euros to Sarkozy for election expenses. As proof, it published on its website a decree signed by Libyan General People’s Committee for Foreign Relations and International Cooperation Secretary Musa Kusa, granting the funds. A Paris court ruled that the published document was a forgery.