MOSCOW
The Tbilisi City Court on Wednesday jailed former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to nine years in prison for embezzling public funds.
The court found Saakashvili guilty of using state budget funds for personal expenses during his presidency, including paying for his son’s education, renting planes and luxury cars, and purchasing items for his personal wardrobe.
The charges were brought against him in 2014, with the estimated damage amounting to 9 million Georgian lari ($2.9 million).
Saakashvili’s defense argued that these expenditures were related to the former president’s official representation.
“I am being tried as a thief and falsely accused because I underwent medical procedures and sought to represent my country at the highest level, both when I traveled and when hosting visitors here,” Saakashvili said during one of the court hearings.
Currently, Saakashvili is under treatment at the Vivamedi Civilian Clinic in Tbilisi, where he was transferred from detention in May 2022 after a prolonged hunger strike.
In today’s court session, he complained of his deteriorating health and requested a postponement of his sentencing.
In addition to this case, Saakashvili is serving a six-year sentence for the assault on lawmaker Valery Gelashvili and for pardoning the murderers of Sandro Girgvliani, head of the United Georgian Bank’s Foreign Department, who was found dead in January 2006 on the outskirts of the Georgian capital.
