Georgia's third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, said that the new sentence, like the previous ones, was handed down to him on the personal order of the founder of the country's ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
"The sentence against me is a blatant example of political persecution by a Russian oligarch to whom I peacefully handed over power in 2012, but who refuses to give it up despite the results of two parliamentary elections - in 2020 and 2024 - being stolen," Saakashvili wrote on his Facebook page.
On February 12, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Mikheil Saakashvili to 9 years in prison on charges of embezzling more than 8.8 million lari from state funds between September 2009 and February 2013.
The ex-president stated that he does not admit his guilt and the funds were used primarily for foreign trips and receiving foreign leaders. In particular, the case materials include receipts for dinners and other expenses related to the reception of Donald Trump in Tbilisi and Batumi in 2012. The charges also include receipts for flowers sent to the funerals of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and former Czech President Vaclav Havel. Other included entertainment expenses include expenses for medical services and official suits.
“I have been sentenced again, but this is not the end of it... Ivanishvili has already stated that the next step will be to try me for the war against Russia, for opposing the full-scale invasion of Georgia in 2008,” Saakashvili summarizes.
In his publication, he appeals to the international community to fight against the injustices happening in Georgia.
Currently, the third Georgian president is already in prison and serving a six-year sentence for two other criminal cases. The country operates under the principle of punishment absorption when there are multiple sentences. Thus, Saakashvili's prison term starts on October 1, 2021, and he will not be released until 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.
