France's Sarkozy says 'innocent' at trial over Libya funding

INTELLIGENCE SUMMARY

France's ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy at an appeals trial Tuesday said he was "innocent", rejecting charges he had sought Libyan financing for his 2007 election in exchange for helping improve Tripoli's image after deadly bombings. A lower court in September found the right-wing politician, who was president from 2007 to 2012, guilty of seeking to acquire funding from Muammar Gaddafi's Libya for the campaign that saw him elected and sentenced him to five years behind bars.