Paris - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will hear the court verdict later Thursday in one of the most controversial political trials in recent decades. He is suspected of receiving millions of euros from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to finance his 2007 presidential campaign. The French prosecutor's office is seeking a seven-year prison sentence, a €300,000 fine, and five years of disqualification from elections. Brussels media quoted the Belgian news agency as saying that according to the prosecutor's office, Sarkozy, in exchange for the money, contributed to Libya's international rehabilitation and worked to exonerate Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's son-in-law, convicted of the deadly 1989 attack on a UTA DC-10. Prosecutors describe the case as a "Faustian corruption pact" with one of the most controversial leaders of the past 30 years. Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, denies all charges against him, describing the requested sentence as "disproportionate" and an attempt to "mask the weaknesses of the case." He is being tried on charges of passive corruption, receiving stolen public funds, illegally financing an electoral campaign, and participating in a criminal organization.
The death of Ziad Takieddine, a key figure in the case, last Tuesday in Lebanon, did not alter the course of the trial. The verdict is expected to be delivered Thursday in a Paris court. Sarkozy will be present.
Twelve Defendants
The three-month trial includes twelve defendants, including Claude Guéant and Brice Hortefeux, two of Sarkozy's closest associates. The case is based on years of investigation, testimony, and documents, including notes from Libyan officials and statements from Takieddine himself, who claimed to have transferred millions of euros in cash to Sarkozy and his entourage.