Saakashvili’s Prison Sentence Surges Over 12 Years in Latest Verdict

A court in Georgia has handed down an additional jail sentence to ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, increasing his total imprisonment term to 12 and a half years.

Saakashvili, who was the President of Georgia from 2004 to 2013, had earlier received convictions for abuse of authority and misappropriation, which both he and his legal team dismissed as being driven by political motives.

Judge Badri Kochlamazashvili handed down an additional four years and six months to the former president, who is 57 years old, on accusations of unlawful border crossing, thereby extending his current prison term.

Through a video conference, Saakashvili rejected the verdict, calling it “an entirely unlawful and unfair conviction for offenses I did not commit.”

“They aim to erase me in jail,” he stated. “Nevertheless, I will keep fighting until the very end,” he pledged.

As stated by his attorney, Beka Basilaia, the ruling issued on Monday once again demonstrated that Saakashvili is a political prisoner.

Saakashvili, a controversial reformist

Saakashvili is likewise alleged to have suppressed protesters who contended that his zeal had transformed into dictatorial rule.

The ex-president, instrumental in steering the nation towards a more Western-oriented path, was at the forefront of the 2003 Rose Revolution demonstrations. These protests forced his predecessor from power and initiated an array of comprehensive reforms aimed at addressing systemic corruption.

In 2008, he presided over a short yet fierce conflict with Russia, which concluded with Georgia suffering an embarrassing defeat as they lost their last military outposts in two breakaway regions.

His rule came to an end during the 2012 election with the defeat of Saakashvili’s United National Movement party at the hands of the recently established Georgian Dream Party.

In 2013, Saakashvili departed for Ukraine and obtained citizenship. He served as governor of the southern Odessa region from 2015 to 2016.

Nevertheless, he was quickly apprehended upon his return to Georgia in October 2021 as part of an effort to bolster opposition groups ahead of the upcoming local municipal polls.

The Georgian Dream party was accused of impacting the judicial decision.

On Monday, Saakashvili’s legal representative charged the governing party, Georgian Dream, with exerting influence over the recent extension of the former Georgian president’s jail sentence.

“Unless Georgian Dream steps down from power, the judicial system will remain a mockery and will comply with whatever instructions it receives,” Basilaia stated.

Ever since Saakashvili lost his position in 2012, the Georgian Dream Party has maintained control over the government and has lately encountered criticism along with widespread protests due to accusations of suppressing democratic rights.

The party is additionally criticized for moving the nation off the course towards European Union membership and back under Russia’s sphere of influence.

Following several hunger strikes, Saakashvili is presently receiving medical care at the Vivamedi facility, where his condition is being tracked due to various long-term health issues, as stated by the clinic.