A Paris appeals court on Monday decided to release former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from prison three weeks into a five-year sentence, and place him under judicial supervision.

He left La Sante prison in Paris later Monday afternoon. 

Earlier in the day, Sarkozy had described how his imprisonment was a "nightmare" as the appeal court examined his request for his release pending an appeals trial after being convicted of criminal conspiracy.

Why was Sarkozy in jail?

A lower court in September found Sarkozy guilty of seeking to acquire funding from Moammar Gadhafi's Libya ahead of his successful election bid in 2007. 

Although the court did not rule that Sarkozy received or used the funds for his campaign, it did convict the former president of criminal conspiracy over the plan.

Sarkozy entered jail on October 21, becoming the first former head of a European Union member state to be incarcerated, but his legal team swiftly sought his release.

Should the appeals court in the French capital agree to his release, Sarkozy would be free immediately.

Labeled the "Libyan case" by French media, the accusations have been kicking around since 2011, when a Libyan news outlet published a story about the campaign financing.

The allegations gained traction in 2016, when Takieddine said he had personally delivered suitcases full of cash from Libyan officials to the French Interior Ministry.

Sarkozy, who was president of France from 2007 to 2012, has already been convicted of corruption and influence peddling in unrelated cases.

What did Sarkozy say?

The 70-year-old appeared via video call from prison, wearing a dark blue jacket and flanked by lawyers.

"It's hard, very hard, certainly for any prisoner. I would even say it's grueling," he told the court, but that prison staff had made "this nightmare... bearable."

Prosecutor Damien Brunet had asked the court to agree to Sarkozy's request for release. 

"The risks of collusion and pressure on witnesses justify the request for release under judicial supervision," he said.

Present in the courtroom were Sarkozy's wife, the singer and model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of the former president's sons.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn