Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had only recently begun serving a five-year prison sentence at Paris’s La Santé prison, has been released from custody. The Paris Court of Appeal granted his request for release and ruled that Sarkozy will remain under judicial supervision until the appeal process is concluded.

Instead of prison, he will now wear an electronic ankle monitor and must comply with strict conditions: he is forbidden to leave the country or contact key figures involved in the case, including Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin and members of his circle.

Sarkozy spent less than three weeks behind bars. Speaking via video link during the hearing, he admitted that the days in confinement had been «very difficult» and «exhausting».

Earlier reports stated that Sarkozy was held in a nine-square-meter single cell. He was allowed three visits per week and permitted to use a mobile phone – but only to call numbers pre-approved by investigators.

To recall, the court had found the politician guilty of conspiring with associates and accepting illegal campaign funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during the 2007 presidential race. Sarkozy firmly denies the charges, calling the proceedings «an act of revenge».

He thus became the first French leader since World War II – and the first former president of a European Union member state – to serve time in prison. Given his age, he was eligible to request a reduction of his sentence, which the court ultimately granted.

Photo: @nicolassarkozy