Nicolas Sarkozy has been released on parole and on May 14 his electronic bracelet, which he had been wearing since February 7, was removed, the prosecutor's office in Paris said, confirming information by the Off investigation media.

The former president of the Republic (2007-2012) was finally sentenced in December to one year in prison with an electronic bracelet in the wiretapping case, AFP reported.

Because he is 70 years old, he was able to request parole before half of his sentence expired, which led to his bracelet being removed after just over three months.

France's highest appeals court in December 2024 sentenced Sarkozy to wear the electronic bracelet for a year after finding him guilty of illegally trying to secure a judge's favor.

Sarkozy, who has been beset by legal problems since leaving office in 2012 after a heavy loss in the presidential election, has pleaded not guilty and will appeal the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The removal of the electronic bracelet is conditional, prosecutors said, including the obligation to report any travel abroad, comply with summonses and accept visits from probation officers.

"I can confirm that Nicolas Sarkozy was granted parole on May 14," said his lawyer, Jacqueline Lafont-Haïc.

A French court will rule in September on a separate case alleging that Sarkozy accepted illegal campaign financing from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. | BGNES