Tbilisi City Court sentenced former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to 9 years in prison in the so-called "jacket case".

The trial against Saakashvili lasted for about ten years. He was found guilty of embezzling more than 8.8 million lari from state funds between September 2009 and February 2013. The corresponding criminal article provides for imprisonment from 7 to 11 years. According to the prosecutor's office, Saakashvili spent the above-mentioned amount on vacations in luxury hotels, visits to beauty clinics and the purchase of expensive clothes. Among other things, the list includes seven jackets and a cashmere sports coat purchased in London for $28.6 thousand.

The second defendant in the case, former head of the State Security Service Teimuraz Janashia, was fined 300,000 lari (about $100,000).

Both defendants were absent from the sentencing hearing and do not admit their guilt.

Earlier, Mikheil Saakashvili called the charges against him absurd, claiming that the Georgian Dream government had opened this case in order to undermine his image as an anti-corruption fighter.

Currently, the third president of Georgia is already in prison and is serving a six-year sentence for two other criminal cases. The principle of absorption of punishment applies to multiple sentences in the country. Thus, Saakashvili's prison term begins on October 1, 2021, and he will be able to be released no earlier than October 1, 2030. However, two more cases against him remain pending: for illegally crossing the border and for dispersing an opposition rally in November 2007.