Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s former president, was handed a one‑year jail sentence on Sunday after a court found him guilty of fraud and corruption. The judge gave him a suspended start to the term, meaning he will not go to prison right away, but the conviction remains on his record.
Sarkozy, who was in power from 2007 to 2012, said he is innocent of the charges. “I did nothing wrong,” he told a press conference. “It was political persecution.” He added that the trial was based on “false evidence and a biased judge.”
The case stemmed from an investigation into a 2014 private aviation deal. Prosecutors said Sarkozy used a shell company to hide money from a French businessman. The court, after hearing witnesses and documents, found the evidence strong enough to convict. The sentence will only be enforced if Sarkozy commits a new offence before the end of his suspended term.
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