French prosecutors request former President Sarkozy's release under supervision

ISTANBUL

France's public prosecutor's office requested on Monday the release and placement under judicial supervision of former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been serving out a five-year sentence at La Sante prison in Paris since Oct. 21.

While the Paris Court of Appeal is examining Sarkozy’s request for release, the public prosecutor’s office is requesting his release under judicial supervision, with a ban on contact with the various defendants and witnesses in the Libyan case, according to broadcaster BFMTV.

"The extreme seriousness of the facts and the potential sentence should not be taken into account. Only the criteria of Article 144 are relevant," the advocate general specified.

The article lists several legal conditions that can justify pre-trial detention: the preservation of evidence, the prevention of consultations with co-defendants or undue influence, and the protection of the person under investigation.

Attending the hearing via video conference, Sarkozy said he never had the "crazy idea" of asking for any funding from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and added: "I will never admit to something I did not do."

The court is expected to announce its decision later in the day.

The former French president was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiracy in a case involving the Libyan financing of his 2007 election campaign.

The court found Sarkozy, who denied all wrongdoing, guilty of criminal conspiracy but cleared him of passive corruption and other illegal financing charges.

Upon his arrival in prison, Sarkozy’s lawyers filed a request for his release.

Sarkozy was elected president of France in 2007 and served until 2012.