Paris [France], May 28: The lawyers acting for former French president Nicolas Sarkozy urged acquittal at the end of his appeal trial in Paris concerning alleged illegal Libyan funding for his 2007 presidential election campaign.
"Nicolas Sarkozy must be acquitted because he is innocent," Tristan Gautier told the Paris court during closing arguments.
Gautier's colleague, Christophe Ingrain, said a conviction could not be made on the basis of a mere hypothesis. Sarkozy, president from 2007 to 2012, had not acted in a way that would justify accusations of involvement in a criminal organization, he said.
The conviction was based not on provable acts, but on presumed intentions, Ingrain said. Sarkozy, 71, followed the closing arguments of his four lawyers with his arms folded. Judgement is expected only at a later date.
In the initial trial, Sarkozy was found guilty of membership of a criminal association and sentenced to five years in prison in a case unique in the recent history of France. He was jailed for a few weeks, despite lodging an appeal.
While the court found no proof that Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign had in fact received money from the regime of former Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, it did find that both the conservative politician and people close to him had attempted to secure this money.
Sarkozy has always denied the charges.
As in the initial trial, the prosecution accused the former president of membership of a criminal association and illegal campaign funding.
He is also accused of benefiting from the embezzlement of public funds. The prosecution called for a sentence of seven years.
This is not Sarkozy's first run-in with the French justice system, but the Libyan case is the most serious for Sarkozy.
Before his brief time behind bars after the initial trial, Sarkozy had been required to wear an ankle monitor for three months after being found guilty of corruption and illegal influence-peddling - allegations that he has consistently denied.
After being convicted in another trial for illegal campaign funding for his failed 2012 presidential re-election bid, he was compelled to wear a monitor for six months.
After losing to his successor François Hollande in 2012, Sarkozy has continued to be seen as an influential figure among French conservatives.
Source: Qatar Tribune
