Sarkozy gets 5 yrs in jail for Libya funding

A Paris court sentenced former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to 5 years in prison and — in a major surprise — said he will be incarcerated even if he appeals, after finding him guilty Thursday in his trial for alleged illegal campaign financing by Libya.

- AP

The court said the date of his incarceration will be decided later, sparing the 70-year-old the humiliation of being marched out of the courtroom by police officers and going straight to jail.

It found Sarkozy guilty of criminal association in a plot from 2005 to 2007 to finance his campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favours. But it cleared him of three other charges — passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of the embezzlement of public funds.