Mar 1, 2021 - World

Former French President Sarkozy sentenced to jail for corruption

Maria Arias

Photo by XINHUA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images — Nicolas Sarkozy, 2011. Photo: XINHUA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

A court in Paris on Monday sentenced former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence after he was found guilty of trying to bribe a magistrate, AP reports.

Driving the news: Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, is the first president in France’s modern history to have gone on trial for corruption, per AP. He was charged with corruption and influence-peddling.

Details: Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, and now-retired magistrate Gilbert Azibert were accused of taking part in a “pact of corruption” with Sarkozy and were also found guilty and given the same sentence as the former president.

Sarkozy has denied all allegations against him.

Where it stands: Sarkozy has also been charged for illegally financing his 2012 presidential run, for which he has a trial later this month.

An investigation opened in 2013 accused Sarkozy of accepting millions from former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi to finance his 2007 campaign.

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Former French President Sarkozy sentenced to jail for corruption

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