PARIS: France’s former president Nicolas Sarkozy maintained his innocence on Tuesday, telling an appeal hearing in Paris that not a single cent from Libya helped fund his 2007 presidential campaign.
“I owe the truth to French people,” Sarkozy told a three-judges panel during a hearing in the case that lead him to spend 20 days in prison before being granted release pending appeal. “I’m innocent,” he said.
Sarkozy, 71, is challenging his conviction after being found guilty in September of “criminal conspiracy.” He was sentenced to five years in prison for his alleged part in a scheme to obtain funds from the government of late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in exchange for political and diplomatic favors.
Sarkozy has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and claims the allegations were politically motivated.
Tuesday’s hearing focused on his role as a conservative presidential candidate and then president from 2007 to 2012. The 12-week appeal trial, which began last month, will reexamine all of the evidence and testimony related to him and nine co-defendants — including three former ministers.
