Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday pleaded not guilty at his appeal trial, rejecting accusations of attempting to obtain funding from Libya for his 2007 election campaign in exchange for helping to improve Tripoli's image after deadly bombings, UNN reports with reference to AFP.
Details
In September, a lower court found the right-wing politician, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, guilty of attempting to obtain funding from Muammar Gaddafi's Libya for the election campaign that led to his victory, and sentenced him to five years in prison.
This case made Sarkozy, who has always denied any wrongdoing, the first president of modern France to be imprisoned. He served 20 days before being released pending appeal.
In the initial stages of the trial, prosecutors alleged that Sarkozy's aides, acting on his behalf, struck a deal with Gaddafi, promising in return to help restore the Libyan leader's international image after Tripoli was accused of two plane bombings.
The West blamed Libya for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 259 people, and for the bombing of UTA Flight 772 over Niger the following year, which claimed 170 lives.
Relatives of those killed in 1989 spoke of their suffering at the appeal trial last week.
"Such unspeakable suffering can only be answered with the truth," Sarkozy said on the first of several days of his court appearance with his wife, model and singer Carla Bruni.
"But suffering cannot be remedied by injustice: I am not guilty," he added.
Addendum
The lower court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal conspiracy in connection with what it said was a scheme to obtain Libyan funding, but not of receiving or using those funds for the campaign.
The appeal process is expected to last until June 3, with a verdict expected in the autumn. If convicted, Sarkozy faces up to 10 years in prison.
Since leaving office, Sarkozy has repeatedly faced legal problems, and has already been convicted twice in other cases.