Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was released from jail on Monday after serving just three weeks of a five-year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy.
The 70-year-old French head of state who led France between 2007 and 2012 will remain under judicial supervision pending an appeal hearing over the conviction, a court in Paris ruled.
He returned home to his partner, Carla Bruni, and will be banned from leaving France until the appeal. He could be required to wear an electronic tag while living at his home and would also need to make his bail payment and check in regularly with the authorities as part of this controversial arrangement.
‘It’s one step’- the lawyer of the former president explained to reporters about the decision. They added that the next step is the appeal trial.
In September, Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal conspiracy over the efforts of aides to attain funding for his 2007 presidential bid from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.He was acquitted of all other charges, including corruption and receiving illegal campaign funding. For this, he was sent to the notorious La Sante prison on 21 October, where he was mocked by other prisoners. This is when his legal team had pleaded for his immediate release.