Nicolas Sarkozy again in front of the judges – RT in French

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared this January 6 before the Paris criminal court, as part of the so-called Sarkozy-Gaddafi affair relating to suspicions of Libyan financing during his 2007 presidential campaign.

Former ministers Claude Guéant, Brice Hortefeux and Éric Woerth are implicated in the trial targeting former French President Nicolas Sarkozy (2007 – 2012) in the context of suspicions of Libyan financing during his victorious 2007 presidential campaign.

The opening of this trial on January 6, before the Paris criminal court, comes a few days after the confirmation by the Court of Cassation of a conviction of Nicolas Sarkozy to three years in prison, one of which was closed in the wiretapping case. the Élysée.

This time, in addition to a fine of 375,000 euros, the former head of state risks up to 10 years in prison. As in the wiretapping case, he could also be deprived of his civil rights for up to five years.

The former President of the Republic is being prosecuted for “concealment of embezzlement of public funds”, “passive corruption”, “illegal financing of an electoral campaign” as well as for “criminal conspiracy”.

An unprecedented trial for a former president

At his side on the dock, the personalities involved all risk 10 years in prison with the exception of Éric Woerth, the former President of the 2007 campaign financing association, who has since joined the current presidential party, which only risks one year of imprisonment and a fine of 3,650 euros.

In addition to Nicolas Sarkozy’s former chief of staff, Claude Guéant, and his former minister and friend Brice Hortefeux, his former deputy chief of staff Thierry Gaubert, the trial also features lesser-known personalities such as the former executive of Airbus Édouard Ullmo. Several dual nationals and foreign nationals are also in the dock.

Thus, the Franco-Algerian businessman Alexandre Djouhri is being prosecuted as an intermediary, as is the Franco-Lebanese Ziad Takieddine.

Gaddafi’s former chief of staff, the Libyan Béchir Salah, is also implicated. The latter, a refugee in South Africa, was the subject of an assassination attempt in 2018 and attempted to run in the 2021 Libyan presidential election, which has still not taken place. The Franco-Djiboutian banker Wahib Nacer and the Saudi businessmen Ahmed Salem Bugshan and Khaled Bugshan are also targeted, like the Malaysian lawyer Siva Rajendram.

The trial which is scheduled to last until April 10.