Former French President Sarkozy Found Guilty Of Conspiracy, But Not Corruption, In Libya Trial

A Paris court on Thursday sentenced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to five years and ordered him to go to prison after finding him guilty of criminal conspiracy over accusations the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi helped fund his victorious 2007 presidential run.

Sarkozy was found not guilty of receiving illegal campaign financing from Gaddafi for his successful 2007 presidential bid, but was pronounced guilty of criminal conspiracy in the same case. Sarkozy was acquitted by a Paris court of all other charges, including passive corruption.

Sarkozy, who has always denied the charges, was accused of making a deal with Gaddafi in 2005, when he was France's interior minister, to obtain campaign financing in exchange for supporting the then-isolated Libyan government on the international stage.

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The court ordered that Sarkozy should be placed in custody at a later date, with prosecutors given one month to inform the former head of state when he should go to prison.

Even if Sarkozy, 70, appeals the verdict, this measure will remain in force. Should he go to prison, he will be the first president in the history of modern France to be jailed. He was also fined 100,000 euros ($117,000) and banned from holding public office.

Sarkozy had said the case was politically motivated.

The court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy between 2005 and 2007. The court added that after that he was president and covered by presidential immunity. Despite lingering legal headaches, and having his Legion of Honour, France's highest distinction, stripped in June, Sarkozy remains an influential figure on the French political stage.

He recently met with his former protege, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, and has also lent credibility to the National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, saying the far-right, anti-immigrant party now forms part of the "republican arc." Sarkozy has faced several legal battles since leaving office.

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