PARIS: French prosecutors on Thursday demanded that former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been embroiled in legal troubles since leaving office, face a new trial over alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 election campaign.
France’s financial crimes prosecutors (PNF) said Sarkozy and 12 others should face trial over accusations they sought millions of euros in financing from the regime of then Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi for his ultimately victorious campaign.
Sarkozy is accused of corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealing the embezzlement of public funds, the prosecutors said in a statement.
He has always rejected the charges.
The prosecutors’ call for a trial is not the final decision on whether the process will go ahead, with investigating magistrates having the last word on a case which has been open since 2013.
Among the others facing trial in the case are heavyweights such as Sarkozy’s former right-hand man Claude Gueant, his then head of campaign financing Eric Woerth and former minister Brice Hortefeux.
The right-wing Sarkozy, who won the 2007 elections but then lost in 2012 to Socialist Francois Hollande, has been convicted twice in separate cases since leaving office.
The ex-president will on May 17 hear the decision of the court of appeal in a case of wiretapping, which saw him sentenced at first instance to three years in prison — two of them suspended — for corruption and influence peddling.
And he will be retried from November 2023 on appeal in the so-called Bygmalion case, which saw him sentenced to one year in prison at first instance.
Even if the sentences are confirmed, he is not expected to serve any time in prison on those cases. He has always rejected all the charges.
Despite the legal problems, the man who styled himself as the “hyper-president” while in office still enjoys considerable influence and popularity on the right of French politics.
France’s Sarkozy risks new trial over alleged Libya campaign financing
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France’s Sarkozy risks new trial over alleged Libya campaign financing
- Financial crimes prosecutors said Sarkozy and 12 others should face trial over accusations they sought millions of euros in financing from the regime of then Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi
- Sarkozy is accused of corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealing the embezzlement of public funds
Kyrgyzstan parliament speaker resigns after spy chief sacking
- Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness
BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan’s parliament speaker said Thursday he would step down, two days after President Sadyr Japarov dismissed the Central Asian country’s powerful secret service chief and arrested political figures who called for early elections.
In a surprise move, Japarov had sacked his one-time close ally — spy chief Kamchybek Tashiev — in a decision Bishkek said was meant to “prevent division in society.”
Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness, though marked by political volatility.
Rights groups have accused him of authoritarian tendencies, as he seeks to assert his control and cast himself as a bringer of stability.
Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu — close to the sacked security boss — told MPs he would step down, insisting that he was not resigning under pressure.
“Reforms initiated by the president must be carried out. Political stability is indispensable,” he said.
Kyrgyzstan has in recent years been de-facto governed by the Japarov-Tashiev tandem.
Both came to power in the wake of the 2020 revolution — the third since Bishkek gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Several NGOs have in recent months denounced the deterioration of freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.
Japarov had unexpectedly sacked Tashiev and three of his deputies on Tuesday, also weakening the powers of the secret services.
Japarov rarely speaks publicly. His spokesman had said the decision was taken “in the interests of the state, with the aim of preventing divisions within society, including between government structures, and to strengthen unity.”
Tashiev was in Germany for health treatment when the sacking was announced and had said it was a “total surprise” to him.
The decision came the day after the publication of an open letter from 75 political figures and ex-officials calling to bring forward presidential elections — scheduled for January 2027.
Five of those who signed the letter — which criticized the economic situation in the country — were arrested Wednesday on charges of organizing mass riots.
