FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy went on trial this week accused of accepting millions of euros in illegal funding from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Did Gaddafi set a precedent for other autocrats who want to buy influence in the West?
Sarkozy, on trial with three of his former ministers, is accused of accepting 50 million euros in illegal campaign funds, which prosecutors suspect Gaddafi paid in exchange for diplomatic, legal and business favors.
The autocratic leader, whose regime was known for human rights abuses, forged a relationship with Sarkozy that saw him invited to Paris with honors after Sarkozy was elected president in 2007.
Gaddafi's success in buying influence set a precedent, Anas Al-Gomati, director of the Libyan institute Sadeq Institute, told FRANCE 24.
" The project continues today. We see autocracies throughout the Arab world continue to use the same Gaddafi playbook ," he said.
Speaking in court, the former French head of state said: " Ten years of defamation, 48 hours of detention, 60 hours of interrogation. 10 years of investigation. What was found? Nothing. Nothing, this worries me" , clarified Sarkozy, who is on trial together with 11 other people.
" There are reasons for me to be angry" , he added and emphasized that " you will never find one euro, not one minute in my campaign ".
Gaddafi is not the first foreign leader to be accused of buying influence in French politics. But during his 43-year rule, the Libyan leader "made financial crime an art and an art that I don't think any regime in the world today has been able to perfect to the same level," adds Al-Gomati.
His regime was open about how it fed money to several Palestinian groups, the IRA, various African leaders and to finance acts of international terrorism.
But in the early 2000s Gaddafi tried to whiten Libya's international image by building ties with the West.
Along with Sarkozy, he also built strong relationships with leaders in the United Kingdom and Canada. In both countries, concerns have since grown about the controversial ways in which Gaddafi's wealth enabled him to wield influence.
Lini një Përgjigje