🔗 Share this article Nicolas Sarkozy to Pen Jail Diary Chronicling His 20 Days In Custody The ex-president of France will soon publish a personal account this autumn titled Diary of a Prisoner, which recounts the period spent behind bars. The announcement emerged just 11 days after the former president gained freedom while he contests the guilty verdict related to criminal conspiracy connected to efforts to acquire political financing linked to the regime of former Libyan leader. Time in Custody: Solitary Musings “Inside jail visibility is limited, with little to occupy time,” he reflects in a preview, implying the book is more about his reflections during seclusion instead of extensive analysis of the overcrowded and crisis-hit correctional facilities in the country. “Quiet is absent, which doesn’t exist in that facility, where one hears a lot to hear,” he continues. “The racket unfortunately never stops. Yet, similar to barren lands, one’s inner world is strengthened while incarcerated.” Release Hearing: Describing the Ordeal During his plea for freedom, he participated remotely from a room in prison, depicting prison life as gruelling. He stated to the judge: “I want to pay tribute the correctional officers, displaying remarkable compassion, and who have made this ordeal tolerable – because it is a nightmare.” “I never imagined at this stage of life, I would end up incarcerated. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. It’s challenging, I acknowledge, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark every inmate as it’s exhausting.” Historical Context Sarkozy, who served as France’s president for a five-year term, became the inaugural past president from the EU and the first leader since WWII in the French Republic to experience jail. Ahead of his incarceration he declared he would use his time to compose an account. Reading Material Unconfirmed is whether he had time to go through the volumes he took into prison: a two-volume biography of Jesus together with Dumas’s work The Count of Monte Cristo, in which an innocent man is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge. Life in Confinement He was held in isolation to protect him in a space of about nine sq metres including private facilities in the Paris jail in the city. Security personnel occupied a neighbouring cell. Reports indicated that he had eaten solely dairy snacks while inside worried that meals provided may have been contaminated. Options were available to cook for himself but he turned this down, according to reports. Unclear remains whether Sarkozy will write about what he ate in prison. Defense Viewpoint His attorney, who visited his client every day while he was in prison, informed the court his safety would improve outside jail compared to inside. “There were threats against his life, heard shouts during nighttime plus rapid actions in an adjacent room during an inmate’s self-injury.” Legal Proceedings He entered custody in late October after a Paris court sentenced him to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to acquire election financing for his 2007 presidential race. He denies wrongdoing and is contesting the ruling, with a new trial planned for next spring.