Former French president Sarkozy loses corruption appeal in court
- 17 May 2023
Gulf Today Report
French former president Nicolas Sarkozy lost his appeal against a 2021 conviction for corruption and influence peddling at the Paris Court of Appeals on Wednesday.
The court upheld a three-year prison sentence. It said two of those years were suspended and that Sarkozy could wear an electronic bracelet instead of going to jail for the remaining year.
Earlier, the court found that Sarkozy and his former lawyer, Thierry Herzog, had formed a "corruption pact" with a judge, Gilbert Azibert, to obtain and share information about a legal investigation.
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Investigators had wiretapped Sarkozy's two official phone lines. They discovered that he had a third unofficial one taken out in 2014 under the name "Paul Bismuth", through which he communicated with Herzog.
The contents of these phone calls led to the 2021 corruption verdict.
The former leader contested the accusations and immediately appealed against his conviction.
On the first day of the appeals hearing in December last year, he said he had "never corrupted anybody".
His conversations with Herzog have now been played in court for the first time and will be central in determining Wednesday's ruling.
The prosecutor's office has requested that Sarkozy, Herzog and Azibert each be handed a three-year suspended sentence.
They have also asked for Sarkozy and Azibert, 76, to be suspended from public office and Herzog, 67, to be banned from practising law, each for five years.