( CNN ) -- Former Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase was hospitalized Wednesday after an apparent suicide attempt that took place hours after the Supreme Court confirmed his two-year prison sentence for illegally raising campaign funds , the government said . The Public Ministry said in a news release that Nastase , 61 , shot himself in the neck late Wednesday night , when a police team arrived at his residence to inform him of his arrest . He told the police to wait while he went to get books from his home library , then shot himself there , the ministry said . He was taken to Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest . `` He looks terrible , '' Prime Minister Victor Ponta told reporters after visiting Nastase in the hospital , which did not release Nastase 's condition . The decision by Romania 's Supreme Court is final . But Nastase 's lawyer , Ioan Cazacu , said he will appeal the decision to the European Court of Human Rights . Nastase wo n't be allowed to run for or serve in public office for two years after he completes his prison sentence . The high court found Nastase guilty of illegally raising â‚¬1.6 million ( $ 2.1 million ) during his 2004 election campaign , when he ran for president on behalf of the Social Democrat Party . The conviction came after more than 1,000 days of trial and testimony from more than 900 witnesses . Nastase has had no comment on the court 's decision . The case was nicknamed the Quality Trophy , a reference to a conference organized by a state construction agency in 2004 at which companies and institutions donated money that was used by Nastase to fund his campaign , prosecutors said . The trial started in January 2009 , after Nastase was accused of using his political influence as a party leader in his own interest . He repeatedly denied the accusations and said the trial was a political one . He accused President Traian Basescu , who defeated Nastase in the 2004 election , of being behind the scandal . Five other people charged in the case received sentences of up to six years in prison . In a separate case , Nastase was placed on three years of probation in March after he was convicted of committing blackmail while in office . The charge had been under investigation for more than six years . Nastase was involved in another case , known as the Aunt Tamara case , in which he was accused of paying a $ 400,000 bribe to the former head of the country 's anti-money-laundering agency to delete some documents related to his wife 's bank account . Nastase was found not guilty in that case . Nastase served as Romania 's premier from 2000 to 2004 and remained an important figure in his Social Democrat Party . The party took power in May , after the former government 's collapse . Wednesday 's decision marks the first prison sentence for a senior politician in Romania since the fall of communism in the country in 1989 . The sentence marks the first important signal from Romania to the European Union that it is serious about trying to tackle corruption . The country has been criticized by Brussels in recent years for failing to enact judicial reform and to solve corruption cases involving high-profile politicians . Concern about corruption in Romania led northern European countries last year to block the country from joining the European Union 's Schengen passport-free area .
NEW : Lawyer to appeal to European Court for Human Rights . `` He looks terrible , '' Prime Minister Ponta says . It is the first prison sentence for a senior politician in Romania since the fall of communism . The former prime minister was convicted of illegally raising campaign funds .