Ex-prez Sarkozy detained in influence-peddling probe
3 July 2014 5:01 AM IST
Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday became the first former French president to be placed in custody for questioning in a criminal investigation. The right-wing leader was detained at a police station in a Paris suburb in connection with a suspected attempt to illegally influence judicial proceedings in one of a raft of colourful corruption cases in which he is embroiled.
Sarkozy, who turned up at the station in Nanterre in a black saloon car with tinted windows, can be held for up to 48 hours before he has to be charged or released. His detention came a day after investigators took his longtime lawyer Thierry Herzog and two magistrates into custody in connection with alleged ‘influence peddling’ - a serious crime in France which carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Investigators suspect Sarkozy attempted to obtain inside information from one of the magistrates about confidential proceedings in an illegal election financing case, and that he was tipped off by a senior figure when judges tapped his phones.
It is the latest in a long line of legal woes for the 59-year-old since he left office following his defeat by Socialist candidate Francois Hollande in the 2012 presidential vote. Sarkozy is widely expected to attempt a political comeback in time for the 2017 election, but those plans would be torpedoed if he is charged in this case.
He denies any wrongdoing and his allies on the right of the political spectrum denounced what they see as a witch-hunt against their man. ‘Never before has a former president been subjected to such treatment, such an unleashing of hate,’ said Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice and an MP for Sarkozy’s UMP party.
Sarkozy, who turned up at the station in Nanterre in a black saloon car with tinted windows, can be held for up to 48 hours before he has to be charged or released. His detention came a day after investigators took his longtime lawyer Thierry Herzog and two magistrates into custody in connection with alleged ‘influence peddling’ - a serious crime in France which carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Investigators suspect Sarkozy attempted to obtain inside information from one of the magistrates about confidential proceedings in an illegal election financing case, and that he was tipped off by a senior figure when judges tapped his phones.
It is the latest in a long line of legal woes for the 59-year-old since he left office following his defeat by Socialist candidate Francois Hollande in the 2012 presidential vote. Sarkozy is widely expected to attempt a political comeback in time for the 2017 election, but those plans would be torpedoed if he is charged in this case.
He denies any wrongdoing and his allies on the right of the political spectrum denounced what they see as a witch-hunt against their man. ‘Never before has a former president been subjected to such treatment, such an unleashing of hate,’ said Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice and an MP for Sarkozy’s UMP party.
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