Nicolas Sarkozy is found guilty of "criminal conspiracy" but acquitted of allegations of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealing embezzlement of public funds, the court in Paris announces.
According to the prosecution, he received money for his political campaign in 2007 from Libya in exchange for diplomatic services.
Shortly after the verdict, Sarkozy announces that he will appeal. In French media, he claims to be a victim of a "scandalous injustice".
I will sleep with my head held high in prison, he says.
However, according to the court, the former president will be imprisoned regardless of whether he appeals.
The case is based, among other things, on the information of a recently deceased businessman. He has stated that he helped deliver up to five million euros, around 55 million kronor, in cash from Gaddafi to Sarkozy and his chief of staff in 2006 and 2007.
Eleven other people have also been accused in the case. Some of them are acquitted while others are found guilty, the court announces on Thursday.
Sarkozy, who was President of France from 2007 to 2012, has consistently denied the allegations in the Libya case. He has previously been convicted of, among other things, corruption.
