A significant decision has been announced in the trial held in Paris against France's former president, Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy, 70, who held the presidential post from 2007 to 2012, was found guilty of “forming a criminal organization” but acquitted of charges of embezzlement, passive corruption, and exceeding election campaign finance rules.
The editorial office reports that the court declared Sarkozy guilty of “forming a criminal organization” in the case based on claims of Libyan origin. Thus, he became the first former French president to be convicted of such a high-level charge. The details of the decision and the type of punishment have not yet been disclosed. Sarkozy has the right to appeal the decision, and the sentence will not be applied until this process is finalized.
The prosecution claimed that millions of dollars from the Libyan government led by Muammar Gaddafi were secretly channeled into Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign. The former president, however, denied all charges throughout the three-month court hearings.
A total of 11 people, including former ministers Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, were also tried in the case. The prosecution requested six years in prison for Guéant and three years for Hortefeux. The process began in March 2011, based on a claim by a Libyan news agency that the Gaddafi government had financed Sarkozy's election campaign. During that year, amidst the Mediterranean crisis, Sarkozy was one of the first Western leaders to support military intervention in Libya. Gaddafi was killed by opposition forces in October 2011.