French prosecutors requested a seven-year prison sentence for former president Nicolas Sarkozy in his trial on charges of accepting illegal campaign financing in an alleged pact with the late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Sarkozy, who was president from 2007-2012 dened the charges, as he was already convicted and jailed for one year in a separate influence-peddling case, a sentence the leader is currently serving with an electronic tag rather than in prison.
Prosecutors also recommended a fine of 300,000 euros and a five-year ban on holding office, just as reporters revealed that Sarkozy sat stone-faced as the requests were read out in the courtroom said.
Calling the allegations against him as false and violent Sarkozy later posted on social media that the prosecution’s request was an outrage, stressing that he would continue to fight for the truth.
Sarkozy therefore maintained throughout the trial that he had never accepted any money from Kadhafi.
Meanwhile twelve suspects are standing trial with the president including former close aides, who was accused of devising a pact with Kadhafi to illegally fund Sarkozy’s victorious 2007 presidential election bid. They include Sarkozy’s former right-hand man, Claude Gueant, his then-head of campaign financing, Eric Woerth, and former minister Brice Hortefeux
