A Paris court has sentenced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to five years in prison after finding him guilty of criminal conspiracy in a case tied to millions of euros allegedly funneled from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the BBC reports. Sarkozy, who led France between 2007 and 2012, was cleared of several other charges, including illegal campaign financing and passive corruption. Nevertheless, the court ruled that he must serve prison time, even as he plans to appeal the decision. Speaking after Thursday’s verdict, the 70-year-old politician called the ruling a matter of grave concern for the rule of law and insisted the proceedings were politically motivated. He has long denied accusations that his 2007 presidential campaign was bankrolled with Gaddafi’s money. Prosecutors argued that in return, Sarkozy sought to help the Libyan regime repair its pariah status on the world stage. Judge Nathalie Gavarino told the court that Sarkozy had allowed close associates to approach Libyan officials for financial backing. However, the judges concluded there was insufficient proof that Sarkozy himself directly received illicit campaign funds. Alongside the prison term, he was ordered to pay a €100,000 ($117,000) fine. The ruling raises the prospect of Sarkozy becoming the first former French head of state to be imprisoned. “If they insist on making me sleep in jail, I will go with my head held high,” he told reporters outside the courthouse. The case dates back to 2013, two years after Saif al-Islam Gaddafi accused Sarkozy of secretly accepting millions from his father. A year later, Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, once a key go-between for France and the Middle East, claimed to have documentary evidence that Tripoli had pumped as much as €50 million into Sarkozy’s campaign and continued paying even after he took office.
