France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has confirmed that two security officers have been assigned to protect former President Nicolas Sarkozy while he serves his jail sentence in Paris’ La Santé Prison following his conviction in a criminal conspiracy case linked to Libya.
Nunez told local media on Wednesday that Sarkozy continues to receive state protection “given his status and the threats against him,” adding that the arrangement “has indeed been maintained in detention.”
Sources said the two officers are stationed in a neighbouring cell to ensure the former president’s safety. Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was found guilty last month of seeking illicit campaign funding from late Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi for his 2007 presidential run.
He was sentenced to five years in prison for criminal conspiracy and began serving his term on Tuesday. Sarkozy’s lawyers have appealed the verdict and requested his provisional release, but he is expected to remain behind bars for at least three weeks to a month.
The unusual security arrangement has sparked backlash within the prison system. Wilfried Fonck, head of the UFAP UNSa Justice union, criticised the decision, calling it “an insult” to prison officers.
“They’re basically telling us we don’t know how to do our jobs,” Fonck said on RTL radio. “Today we have two civilians inside a prison who shouldn’t be there and who don’t know how the system works. I’ve never seen anything like it in 25 years.”
According to prison staff, Sarkozy is being held in a nine-square-metre (95-square-foot) cell in the solitary confinement wing to prevent contact with other inmates. He will be allowed daily outdoor walks alone and visits three times a week.
The 70-year-old ex-president is the first former leader of a European Union country to serve jail time, and the first French head of state to be incarcerated since Philippe Pétain, who was imprisoned after World War II for collaborating with Nazi Germany.
Sarkozy has faced multiple legal troubles since leaving office in 2012 and has already been convicted in two other corruption-related cases.
