French Prosecution Demands Imprisonment, Fine, Political Ban of Former PM Fillon - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - France's Prosecutor General's Office has demanded that former Prime Minister Francois Fillon be sentenced to 5 years in prison and pay a fine of $422,385, local media reported on Monday.
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Prosecutors are insisting that Fillon serve his sentence in prison for a year and the rest under house arrest, the Franceinfo news agency reported. In addition to imprisonment and a fine, the prosecutor's office also insisted on banning Fillon from political activities for 10 years, the agency added.
The scandal around the former head of government broke out in the middle of the 2017 presidential campaign in France and the charge resulted in Fillon losing his bid. Fillon’s campaign took a negative turn when satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported that Fillon's wife Penelope was paid for a fake job in parliament from 1998 to 2013.
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Francois Fillon: Ex-French Prime Minister Handed 5-Year Jail Term in Fake Jobs Trial
In June 2020, a Paris court found Fillon guilty of embezzling public funds and sentenced him to five years in prison, three of which were suspended. Fillon was also sentenced to a fine of $422,385, and he was banned from holding elected office for a decade. Fillon's wife Penelope was found guilty of complicity and concealment of the embezzlement of public funds. She received a suspended sentence of three years in prison.
Fillon's defense found the sentence unfair and an appeal was filed. On November 15, the Paris Court of Appeal began the appeals process in the case of the former French Prime Minister which will last until November 30.
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