FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived at La Sante prison in Paris on Tuesday to begin a five-year sentence for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, in a shocking downfall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012.
The conservative former president emerged from his home earlier, walking hand in hand with his wife Carla Bruni and cheered by a crowd of supporters chanting "Nicolas, Nicolas" and singing France's national anthem "La Marseillaise."
Sarkozy, who was convicted last month, will become the first former French leader to be imprisoned since Nazi collaborator Marshal Philippe Petain after World War II.
Immediately after getting into the car to leave for La Sante, Sarkozy published a long message on "X", in which he claimed to be the victim of revenge and hatred.
"I want to tell the French, with the unwavering strength that belongs to me, that it is not a former president of the Republic who is being imprisoned this morning, it is an innocent man," he said.
Sarkozy's conviction ended years of legal battles over allegations that his 2007 campaign received millions of dollars from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was later overthrown and killed during the Arab Spring uprisings.
While Sarkozy was found guilty of conspiring with close aides to orchestrate the scheme, he was acquitted of charges of personally receiving or using the funds. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing and called the case politically motivated.
"I am very proud of him, proud that he is going to prison with his head held high and absolutely convinced of his innocence," his brother, Guillaume Sarkozy, told BFM TV.
He was among relatives and supporters who cheered the former president on his way to prison.
Lini një Përgjigje