A prison guard is seen at work in one of the "protected posts" at Paris' La Santé prison, which was renovated after four years of works, on April 12, 2019. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP
France's interior minister, on Wednesday, October 22, confirmed that former president Nicolas Sarkozy would be protected by two security officers while he serves jail time, after having been sentenced to prison for criminal conspiracy in a case involving alleged Libyan funding of his 2007 presidential election campaign.
The former president would usually benefit from "a protection arrangement given his status and the threats against him," an arrangement that "has indeed been maintained in detention," Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told media. Two security officers will be stationed in a neighbouring cell in Paris' La Santé prison, where Sarkozy was incarcerated on Tuesday.
Sarkozy is expected to be held in a nine-square-meter cell in the prison's isolation or "VIP" wing to avoid contact with other prisoners. In these special conditions, prisoners are allowed out of their cells for one walk a day, alone, in a small yard. Sarkozy will also be allowed visits three times a week.
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