Senin, 01 Maret 2021

Sarkozy: Former French president sentenced to jail for corruption - BBC News

Nicolas Sarkozy in court in Paris, 1 March 2021
Reuters

French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years in jail, two of them suspended, for corruption.

He was convicted of trying to bribe a judge in 2014 - after he had left office - by suggesting he could secure a prestigious job for him in return for information about a separate case.

Sarkozy, 66, is the first former French president to get a custodial sentence.

His lawyer says he will appeal. Sarkozy will remain free during that process which could take years.

In the ruling, Judge Christine Mée said the conservative politician "knew what [he] was doing was wrong", adding that his actions and those of his lawyer had given the public "a very bad image of justice".

The crimes were specified as influence-peddling and violation of professional secrecy.

It is a legal landmark for post-war France. The only precedent was the trial of Sarkozy's predecessor Jacques Chirac, who got a two-year suspended sentence in 2011 for having arranged bogus jobs at Paris City Hall for allies when he was Paris mayor. Chirac died in 2019.

If Sarkozy's appeal is unsuccessful, he could serve a year at home with an electronic tag, rather than go to prison.

His wife, supermodel and singer Carla Bruni, reacted by describing the case as "senseless persecution", adding that "the fight continued, and truth would come out".

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Who is Nicolas Sarkozy?

Nicolas Sarkozy served one five-year term as president from 2007. He adopted tough anti-immigration policies and sought to reform France's economy during a presidency overshadowed by the global financial crisis.

Critics nicknamed him "bling-bling", seeing his leadership style as too brash, celebrity-driven and hyperactive for a role steeped in tradition and grandeur.

His celebrity image was reinforced by his marriage to Bruni in 2008. In 2012 he lost his re-election bid to Socialist François Hollande.

Carla Bruni with Nicolas Sarkozy on a state visit to London in 2008
Getty Images

Since then he has been targeted by several criminal investigations.

In 2017 he tried to make a political comeback, but failed as his centre-right Les Républicains party chose another presidential candidate instead.

What is the corruption case about?

Sarkozy was on trial with two co-defendants, his lawyer Thierry Herzog and Gilbert Azibert, a senior judge.

The case centred on phone conversations between Sarkozy and Herzog that were taped by police in 2014.

Investigators were looking into claims that Sarkozy had accepted illicit payments from the L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign.

The prosecution convinced the court that Sarkozy and Herzog had sought to bribe Azibert with a prestigious job in Monaco in return for information about that investigation.

French media reported that Sarkozy was heard telling Herzog: "I'll get him promoted, I'll help him."

The phone line police tapped was a secret number set up in a fictional name, Paul Bismuth, through which Sarkozy communicated with his lawyer.

On Monday Herzog and Azibert were also sentenced to three years in jail, two of them suspended.

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From wronged politician to convict

Analysis box by Hugh Schofield, Paris correspondent

Nicolas Sarkozy is no stranger to legal investigations - since he left the presidency he has been the object of half a dozen - but up until now his record sheet has been clean. There was plenty of mud, but none of it stuck.

Half an hour in a courtroom in Paris's new Palais de Justice changed all that. Judge Mée read out a verdict that spared nothing, and no-one. Sarkozy, Thierry Herzog and Gilbert Azibert all knew perfectly well what they were doing, she said.

They were trading confidential information for professional favours. And that was corruption in any book.

It is not the end of the affair, by any stretch. The appeal could take years. His team will continue to argue that the case rested on ill-gotten evidence - chance eavesdroppings on confidential phone-chats between a man and his lawyer.

But from today Sarkozy cuts a different figure. Before he was the wronged ex-president, fighting back against a left-wing judicial cabal. Now he has been convicted in a court of law.

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What other accusations is Sarkozy facing?

He is due to go on trial next month over the so-called Bygmalion affair, in which he is accused of having overspent in his unsuccessful 2012 campaign.

Prosecutors are also investigating claims that Sarkozy received funding for his 2007 campaign from Libya's then-leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Sarkozy has already been cleared in connection with the Bettencourt case. He had said all investigations against him were politically motivated.

Despite his legal woes he has remained popular in right-wing circles, a year away from another presidential election.

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2021-03-01 18:52:06Z
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Yemen: Criticism as UK announces it will cut aid to war-torn country by more than half - Sky News

The UK government has announced it will cut the aid it provides to Yemen by more than half.

Foreign Office minister James Cleverly revealed at a virtual United Nations pledging conference that the UK's contribution in the next financial year will be "at least £87m", taking its contribution since the conflict began to more than £1bn.

This is a fall of 59% from 2020/21, when the figure stood at £214m.

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Yemen: The analysis of a war crime

It follows the government's decision to cut foreign aid across the board by billions of pounds - from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5%.

"The UK remains steadfast in our support to Yemeni people as one of the biggest donors of lifesaving aid and through our diplomatic efforts to bring peace," a Foreign Office spokesperson said.

"Since the conflict began, we have supported millions of vulnerable Yemenis with food, clean water and healthcare, and will continue to do so. We are using our UN Security Council seat and working with our allies to push for a lasting resolution to the conflict. Yemen's leaders must meaningfully engage with the UN to agree a ceasefire."

More from Yemen

Mr Cleverly told the conference that the UK's contribution would "prioritise those most vulnerable and at highest risk" and provide at least 1.6 million people with access to clean drinking water and support 400 clinics to provide healthcare and feed 240,000 of the most vulnerable Yemenis every month.

The UN has launched an urgent appeal for more funding for aid in Yemen to avert a looming famine - which would drastically worsen the already devastating impact of the civil war.

The UK government's decision drew swift criticism.

Labour's shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said it was a "deeply depressing statement of intent from the government".

She added: "Despite all the talk of Global Britain this is us abandoning our moral obligations, pulling further away from our allies and stepping back just as the USA steps up."

Conservative MP Jeremy Hunt, a former foreign secretary, said he was "deeply disappointed" with the decision.

"Abandoning a forgotten country and people is inconsistent with our values, weakens our moral authority and reduces our influence," he said.

"We should be increasing the scale of our support in the face of such suffering; to cut it at this moment of extreme peril is incomprehensible."

Labour's Sarah Champion, chair of the Commons International Development Committee, slammed the move as "utterly appalling".

"It sends a message that the UK is turning its back on the world's worst humanitarian crisis," she said.

"This is completely at odds with the government's assertions that the UK should be a global leader, especially in the year with the G7 and COP presidencies.

"It is an astonishing move, particularly as the UK has the power - as penholder within the UN Security Council for Yemen - to lead the way to create a political solution to the conflict."

Speaking to Sky News before the decision was announced, former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell said: "Any cut, let alone one of nearly 50%, will mean that four million Yemenis - mainly children - will continue the slow, agonising and obscene process of starving to death."

He also predicted the government would have the greatest difficulty pushing its wider foreign aid cut through parliament.

"We are a generous country and every single elected member of the House of Commons promised in their manifesto just over a year ago not to cut the 0.7% spending on development," said Mr Mitchell.

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2021-03-01 17:03:45Z
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Aung San Suu Kyi appears in Myanmar court on video - BBC News - BBC News

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  1. Aung San Suu Kyi appears in Myanmar court on video - BBC News  BBC News
  2. Myanmar: Protesters killed after police open fire during latest unrest  Sky News
  3. Aung San Suu Kyi hit with fresh charges after Myanmar's bloodiest day  Telegraph.co.uk
  4. ‘Terrified’ British national in Myanmar hears constant gunshots  Evening Standard
  5. Myanmar coup: Court files fresh charges against Aung San Suu Kyi after 18 killed in protests  Sky News
  6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2021-03-01 16:27:36Z
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Nicolas Sarkozy: Former French president found guilty of corruption and sentenced to prison - Sky News

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been handed a one-year prison term and two-year suspended sentence after being found guilty of corruption and influence peddling.

The 66-year-old was convicted by a court in Paris on Monday for having tried to illegally obtain information from a senior magistrate in 2014 about a legal action in which he was involved.

The court said Sarkozy will be entitled to request to be detained at home with an electronic bracelet, meaning he is unlikely to go to jail.

Nicolas Sarkozy
Image: Sarkozy spent five years as French president

The trial at the end of last year heard how the former politician, who was president from 2007 to 2012, forged a "corruption pact" with his lawyer Thierry Herzog, 65, and senior magistrate Gilbert Azibert, 74.

The trial focused on phone conversations that took place in February 2014. At the time, investigative judges had launched an inquiry into the financing of the 2007 presidential campaign.

During the investigation, they incidentally discovered that Sarkozy and Herzog were communicating via secret mobile phones registered to the alias "Paul Bismuth".

According to wiretapped conversations, Sarkozy instructed Herzog to promise Azibert a job in Monaco in exchange for leaking information about another legal case in which he was involved.

More from France

The court said the facts were "particularly serious" given that they were committed by a former president who used his status to help a magistrate who had served his personal interest.

In addition, as a former lawyer, he was "perfectly informed" about committing an illegal action, the court said.

Sarkozy's two co-defendants - Herzog and Azibert - were also found guilty and given the same sentence.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni in 2008
Image: Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni in 2008

This is the first time in France's modern history that a former president has gone on trial for corruption.

Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was found guilty in 2011 of misuse of public money and given a two-year suspended prison sentence for actions during his time as Paris mayor, but he did not end up having to appear in court because of ill health.

Sarkozy will face another trial later this month along with 13 other people on charges of illegal financing of his 2012 presidential campaign.

His party is suspected of having spent 42.8m euros, almost twice the maximum authorised, to finance the campaign, which ended in victory for Francois Hollande.

Nicolas Sarkozy and Muammar Gaddafi attend a ceremony for the signature of 10 billion euros of trade contracts between the two countries at the Elysee Palace in Paris, 2007
Image: Sarkozy and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi attend a ceremony for the signature of 10bn euros of trade contracts between the two countries at the Elysee Palace in Paris, 2007

In another investigation opened in 2013, Sarkozy is accused of having taken millions from then-Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi to illegally finance his 2007 campaign.

He was handed preliminary charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of stolen assets from Libya and criminal association. He has denied wrongdoing.

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2021-03-01 14:26:17Z
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Sarkozy: Former French president sentenced to jail for corruption - BBC News

French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy in court building, 10 Dec 20
Getty Images

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to three years in jail - two of them suspended - for corruption.

Sarkozy, 66, was found guilty of trying to bribe a magistrate by offering a prestigious job in Monaco in return for information about a criminal inquiry into his political party.

The magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, and Sarkozy's former lawyer, Thierry Herzog, got the same sentence.

Sarkozy can serve the term at home.

In the ruling, the judge in Paris said Sarkozy could serve a year at home with an electronic tag, rather than go to prison. The ex-president is expected to appeal.

Sarkozy "knew what [he] was doing was wrong", the judge said, adding that his actions and those of Herzog had given the public "a very bad image of justice".

The crimes were specified as influence-peddling and violation of professional secrecy.

It is a legal landmark for post-war France. The only precedent was the trial of Sarkozy's right-wing predecessor Jacques Chirac, who got a two-year suspended sentence in 2011 for having arranged bogus jobs at Paris City Hall for political allies when he was Paris mayor. Chirac died in 2019.

Prosecutors sought a four-year jail sentence for Sarkozy, half of which would be suspended.

The case centred on conversations between Azibert and Herzog, which were taped by investigators looking into claims that Sarkozy accepted illicit payments from the L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign.

The phone line they tapped was a secret number set up in a fictional name, Paul Bismuth, through which Sarkozy communicated with his lawyer.

Sarkozy is also due to go on trial in a separate case, from 17 March to 15 April, which relates to the so-called Bygmalion affair. Sarkozy is accused of having fraudulently overspent in his 2012 presidential campaign. He had served as president since 2007 - but his 2012 re-election bid was unsuccessful.

Despite his legal entanglements Sarkozy has remained popular in right-wing circles, a year away from a presidential election.

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2021-03-01 13:41:08Z
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Sarkozy: Former French president sentenced to jail for corruption - BBC News

French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy in court building, 10 Dec 20
Getty Images

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and two former associates have been sentenced to three years in jail - two of them suspended - for corruption.

Sarkozy, 66, was found guilty of trying to bribe a magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, by offering a prestigious job in Monaco in return for information about a criminal inquiry into his political party.

Sarkozy's ex-lawyer Thierry Herzog and Azibert got the same sentence.

Sarkozy can serve the term at home.

In the ruling, the judge said Sarkozy could serve house arrest with an electronic tag. The ex-president is expected to appeal.

It is a legal landmark for post-war France. The only precedent was the trial of Sarkozy's right-wing predecessor Jacques Chirac, who got a two-year suspended sentence in 2011 for having arranged bogus jobs at Paris City Hall for political allies when he was Paris mayor. Chirac died in 2019.

Prosecutors sought a four-year jail sentence for Sarkozy, half of which would be suspended.

The case centred on conversations between Azibert and Herzog, which were taped by investigators looking into claims that Sarkozy accepted illicit payments from the L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt for his 2007 presidential campaign.

Sarkozy is also due to go on trial in a separate case, from 17 March to 15 April, which relates to the so-called Bygmalion affair. Sarkozy is accused of having fraudulently overspent in his 2012 presidential campaign. He had served as president since 2007 - but his 2012 re-election bid was unsuccessful.

Nonetheless, he remains popular in right-wing circles, a year away from a presidential election.

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2021-03-01 13:20:30Z
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PM Narendra Modi gets Covid jab as India scales up vaccination - BBC News

Indian PM Narendra Modi received the first dose the Covid-19 vaccine on Monday
NArendra Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received the coronavirus jab as the country opened its vaccination programme for the wider population.

India launched its vaccination drive on 16 January, but it was limited to healthcare workers and frontline staff.

Now, people over 60 and those who are between 45 and 59 but have other illnesses can get vaccinated.

State-run hospitals will offer free jabs but people can also pay at private facilities to get vaccinated.

Mr Modi, who's 70 years old, was among the first to get his vaccine shot on Monday. He was administered a jab of Covaxin, an indigenously developed vaccine.

After receiving the jab, he took to Twitter, urging people to take the vaccine when their turn came.

"Took my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at Aiims [hospital]. Remarkable how our doctors and scientists have worked in quick time to strengthen the global fight against Covid-19. I appeal to all those who are eligible to take the vaccine. Together, let us make India Covid-19 free," he tweeted.

The government aims to cover 300 million "priority people" by the end of July.

But the pace of vaccination has been slow - so far only 14 million doses have been given and experts say unless the drive is scaled up, the target could be missed.

The country's drugs regulator has given the green light to two vaccines - one developed by AstraZeneca with Oxford University (Covishield) and one by Indian firm Bharat Biotech (Covaxin).

Several others candidates are at different stages of trials. Officials have said they hoped to use a "bouquet of vaccines" to speed up the vaccination drive in the coming months.

Since the pandemic began, India has confirmed more than 11 million cases and over 157,000 deaths.

Much of India has reported a sharp fall in cases recently - with daily infections for the county falling to less than 20,000 from a peak of over 90,000 in September.

But a handful of states have recently reported a sharp uptick in the number of cases.

Experts have blamed "carelessness" in following Covid safety norms behind the rise. Some have also said that new variants could also be the reason behind the surge but is it's yet to be proven.

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2021-03-01 09:43:03Z
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