عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

France's Sarkozy Will Stand Trial over Alleged Libyan Campaign Financing

FILE - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, greets Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace, in Paris Dec. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
FILE - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, greets Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace, in Paris Dec. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
TT
TT

France's Sarkozy Will Stand Trial over Alleged Libyan Campaign Financing

FILE - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, greets Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace, in Paris Dec. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
FILE - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, greets Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace, in Paris Dec. 10, 2007. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will stand trial in 2025 on charges of corruption and illegal financing related to alleged Libyan funding of his successful 2007 presidential bid, the financial prosecutor's office said on Friday.
Sarkozy, who remains an important figure in French politics although he no longer holds any elected post, has always denied the accusations. "There's not even the smallest inkling of proof," he said in an interview in 2018.
The conservative former president, in office from 2007 to 2012, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted in the case. He is also fighting various other legal cases, Reuters said.
In this case, he will stand trial over charges of "concealment of embezzlement of public funds, passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and criminal conspiracy with a view to committing a crime punishable by 10 years in jail", the prosecutor's office said.
Among the 12 others facing trial in the case are Sarkozy's former right-hand man Claude Gueant, his then head of campaign financing Eric Woerth and former Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux.
An initial hearing is set for March 7, 2024, the prosecutor's office said, with the trial itself scheduled to take place between Jan.6, 2025 and April 10, 2025.
Sarkozy, 68, lost an appeal in May against a 2021 conviction for corruption and influence peddling. His legal team promised to challenge that at France's highest court.
Sarkozy's conservative predecessor, the late Jacques Chirac, was found guilty of corruption in 2011, four years after he left office.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

China Discovers Cluster of New Mpox Strain

A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
TT
TT

China Discovers Cluster of New Mpox Strain

A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Chinese health authorities said on Thursday they had detected the new mutated mpox strain clade Ib as the viral infection spreads to more countries after the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency last year.
China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it had found a cluster outbreak of the Ib subclade that started with the infection a foreigner who has a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Reuters reported.
Four further cases have been found in people infected after close contact with the foreigner. The patients' symptoms are mild and include skin rash and blisters.
Mpox spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body. Although usually mild, it can be fatal in rare cases.
WHO last August declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that spread to neighboring countries.
The outbreak in DRC began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But the clade Ib variant appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
The variant has spread from DRC to neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, triggering the emergency declaration from the WHO.
China said in August last year it would monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox.
The country's National Health Commission said mpox would be managed as a Category B infectious disease, enabling officials to take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school, and sealing off areas when there is an outbreak of a disease.