Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy claimed on Wednesday that the justice system was being used as a "political instrument" against him and that he was the victim of a political witch-hunt, The Telegraph reported, only hours after he was charged with corruption in a long-running investigation surrounding illegal campaign finances.
Sarkozy appeared on television for the first time since leaving the Elysée Palace in 2012 to refute charges of corruption, trafficking influence and receiving information that violated professional secrecy, in addition to lash out at the magistrates and France's Socialist government. "I am profoundly shocked by what has happened," said the conservative politician since he was ousted two years ago by the Socialist François Hollande. "I have never committed any act contrary to the values of the republic or the rule of law," he told TF1 station in an interview recorded after he was released early Wednesday after 15 hours of police questioning.
The interview comes a day after Sarkozy was questioned as part of an inquiry into alleged abuse of power and influence peddling during his 2007 election campaign, Reuters reported. It is the first time that a former head of state was held for questioning in modern French history.
"Everything is being done to present an image of me that does not conform to reality. There is a desire to humiliate me. The charges against me are grotesque," he claimed. Wearing a somber grey suit and black tie, he accused one of the judges, who charged him, of being politically biased and determined to humiliate and destroy him. "I am profoundly shocked about what has happened. I don't ask for any privileges - if I have committed errors I will take the consequences. I am not a man to flee my responsibilities," he said.
Additionally, he decried what he called "political interference in a part of the judiciary" - in this case, a suggestion that opponents like the ruling Socialists were behind the case against him which has damaged his chances of making a comeback in time for the 2017 presidential election.
The 59-year-old former leader is the focus of an investigation launched in February into whether he sought to use his influence to seek inside information about an earlier separate inquiry about allegations that late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had made illegal donations to his 2007 election campaign. By using a network of well-connected informants, investigators suspect Sarkozy and his lawyer kept tabs on the case, which eventually came to light following evidence from phone taps.
"When he discovered his phone was tapped, Sarkozy allegedly obtained another phone under the pseudonym Paul Bismuth, to talk to his lawyer," The Guardian reported.
Investigators must now decide if there is enough evidence to bring Sarkozy and two other suspects to trial on the charges of influence-peddling, which can be punished by up to five years in prison, and "active corruption", which carries a sentence of up to 10 years.
