Sarkozy sentenced to 5 years in prison

(Patria) - Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison for illegally financing his 2007 presidential campaign. According to French media, the money was received from Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

At the same time, he was acquitted of charges of concealing embezzlement of public funds and passive corruption. Sarkozy denied all charges during the proceedings. Prosecutors claim that as early as 2005, while he was Minister of the Interior, he agreed on financial support with Gaddafi in exchange for political assistance to the isolated Libyan regime.

The trial, which began in January, included charges of illegal campaign financing, corruption, concealing embezzlement, and conspiracy to commit criminal offenses. This is the biggest corruption trial against Sarkozy, who has previously been convicted twice – once for corruption and trading in influence, and the second time for concealing excessive campaign expenses in the 2012 elections, when he was defeated by François Hollande.

Sarkozy was born in 1955 in Paris and was President of France from 2007 to 2012 as the leader of the then-conservative UMP party, which later changed its name to The Republicans.