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Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be released from prison after a Paris court ruled Monday he could be freed pending an appeal for his September conviction for criminal conspiracy, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.

He was convicted for his involvement in a scheme to finance his 2007 presidential campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors.

Speaking to the court Monday via videolink, he said that his 20 days in prison had been, “very hard.”

He paid tribute to prison staff during his hearing Monday, adding that they had, “an exceptional humanity which made this nightmare bearable.”

According to French magazine Le Point, Sarkozy has refused to eat anything except yogurts during his nearly three-week stint behind bars, reportedly due to fear other prisoners might spit in his food.

Prosecutors requested Sarkozy be released under judicial control, with restrictions on whom he can contact.

The court ruled that the former head of state will be forbidden from leaving France.

The court also specified that Sarkozy is forbidden from contacting people implicated in his case as well as the current French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, who came under public scrutiny for visiting Sarkozy in prison in October, according to BFMTV.

In a statement posted to X shortly before Sarkozy set off for prison on October 21, Sarkozy stressed that he was an “innocent man.” Upon his conviction, he railed against the decision to find him guilty.

“If they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison. But with my head held high,” he told journalists after his sentencing hearing, his voice boiling with anger.

He released a list of three books he took into prison, including two volumes of “The Count of Monte Cristo” and a biography of Jesus Christ.

The former president, who left office in 2012, had been expected to occupy a cell either in solitary confinement or in the so-called “VIP wing” of La Santé prison complex while awaiting his appeal on the conviction.

That wing is usually reserved for prisoners who are considered unsuitable to be kept among the prison’s general population, usually out of fears for their safety. They could be politicians, former police officers, members of far-right organizations or those tied to Islamist terror groups, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.

Cells in the wing are fitted with a metal bed and mattress, a small desk, a fridge, a cooking hob, a television, a shower, toilet and sink, and a fixed telephone line allowing prisoners to call certain authorized numbers.

Previous inmates include Manuel Noriega, the former dictator of Panama who was held there following his extradition from the United States after the American invasion that deposed him.