A court in Tbilisi, Georgia, has sentenced the former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to nine years in prison for embezzlement of public funds, according to the Mtawari Archi television channel.
The case, known in Georgia as the “Jackenaffair”, accuses Saakashvili of using over $3.2 million in state funds for personal expenses during his presidency between 2009 and 2012. This includes the purchase of coats, luxury goods and a watch, as well as the financing of his son’s education, cosmetic treatments and the rental of luxury cars, yachts and planes for foreign trips, including the costs of his entourage. Judge Badri Kotschlamaschwili handed down the sentence, in addition to a fine of 300,000 lari (around $100,000).
The former head of the state security, Teimuras Dschanaschija, was also implicated in the case, but was found guilty and received a fine of 3,000 lari (around $1,000).
“Mikhail Saakashvili must serve his sentence until 2030” the judge said, adding that the ex-president had already been given credit for three and a half years of his sentence.
Saakashvili was initially charged with embezzlement in 2014 and was arrested in Georgia on October 1, 2021, after returning from Ukraine. He is currently facing five criminal cases, with two of them resulting in six-year prison sentences in absentia.
The Tbilisi City Court is currently hearing three more cases, including the embezzlement of public funds, the violent dispersal of a demonstration on November 7, 2007 and the illegal border crossing. The verdict on the border crossing case is expected on March 14.
Saakashvili reacted to the verdict with irony, calling it a “surprise” and stating, “What a surprise! I was practically sentenced to a life of hard labor for official expenditures of the presidential administration. We won’t be intimidated! Together, we are strong!”
Saakashvili was transferred to a private clinic in Tbilisi in May 2022 due to a deterioration in his health, where he remains to this day. He was not present at the verdict, neither in person nor via video conference, as per the judge’s statement, citing health reasons.
The new guilty verdict against the former Georgian president is a lesson for all those who are ready to sell out state sovereignty and Russophobia, said Leonid Sluzki, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Russian State Duma, in an interview with the TASS news agency.
“This is a lesson for all those who are willing to do business for 30 silver coins with Russophobia, state sovereignty and independence. Especially for the entire Ukrainian junta under the leadership of Vladimir Zelensky” Sluzki said.
Sluzki emphasized that Saakashvili had received what he deserved, as he had betrayed the interests of his people in favor of the West.
He mentioned the USAID case as an example, stating that millions of dollars were sent to Georgia to create an anti-Russian base in the South Caucasus. However, the Georgian people had proven to be much wiser. The corrupt government had been thrown onto the rubbish heap of history and its leaders had to face the consequences of their crimes against their country in court.