Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to be released from prison after serving three weeks of a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy.

A Paris court ruled on Monday that Sarkozy, 70, will be placed under judicial supervision pending an appeal against his conviction.

He is banned from leaving France and could be required to wear an electronic tag while living at home.

In September, Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal conspiracy for his role in efforts to secure funding for his 2007 presidential campaign from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

He was acquitted of separate charges of corruption and illegal campaign financing.

Sarkozy was sent to La Sante prison in Paris on October 21, where, reports said, he was mocked by other inmates.

Appearing via videolink from prison on Monday, Sarkozy described his time behind bars as “very hard” and “exhausting”, insisting he had been the target of political vengeance.

“I had never imagined I would experience prison at 70,” he said. “This ordeal was imposed on me, and I lived through it. It’s hard, very hard. I would even say it’s gruelling.”

During a 50-minute hearing, the former president again denied all wrongdoing. “I will never confess to something I didn’t do,” he told the court. “I am fighting for the truth to prevail.”

He was accompanied in court by his wife, Carla Bruni, and his sons Pierre and Jean. Just after 1:30pm (12:30 GMT), the court’s president declared the application for release admissible and placed Sarkozy under judicial supervision.

Under the terms of his release, Sarkozy has been barred from contacting Minister of Justice Gerald Darmanin. He will face an appeal trial expected next year.

Under French law, defendants are generally released pending appeal unless deemed a flight risk or a danger to public order.

Prosecutors have accused Sarkozy of promising to help rehabilitate the image of Gaddafi internationally in exchange for campaign funding. Libya was still facing global condemnation at the time for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, an attack on a passenger plane that killed 270 people.

While the court ruled that Sarkozy had conspired to secure funds, it did not establish that he had personally received or used them in his 2007 campaign.

The former head of state remains under formal investigation in a separate case involving alleged witness tampering.