'I'm not a bandit' Sarkozy tells Libyan funding trial
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was questioned for the final time this week at his trial, alongside 12 other defendants, over the alleged funding of his 2007 presidential election campaign by the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Sarkozy has insisted he is innocent of the charges of corruption, criminal conspiracy, receipt of the proceeds of the misappropriation of (Libyan) public funds, and illegal campaign financing, and this week denounced what he called “the basic premise” of the prosecution services that he is guilty. “I’m not a highwayman, I’m not a bandit”, he told the court this week. Karl Laske reports.
PresentPresent at the trial for the first time, the singer and former model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, her face partially obscured behind oval-shaped sunglasses, wearing a black parka above a dark blue top, jeans and white sneakers, arrived at the courtroom just ahead of her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his group of lawyers and bodyguards.
