A Paris court has delivered a five-year prison sentence for former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, concluding a lengthy legal process related to the so-called Libya affair. The verdict, issued on Thursday, found Sarkozy guilty of forming a criminal organization.
However, the court acquitted him on charges of passive bribery, misappropriation of Libyan funds and illegal campaign financing.
The prosecution had argued that Sarkozy and his advisors entered into an agreement with the then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2005, allegedly designed to illegally finance Sarkozy’s successful presidential campaign two years later. Initially, prosecutors had sought a seven-year prison sentence.
Sarkozy has consistently denied the accusations and is expected to appeal the ruling. It is unlikely he will be immediately incarcerated pending the appeal process. This conviction follows a previous sentence of three years imprisonment, with two years suspended, handed down to Sarkozy in a separate case involving corruption and abuse of office.