Georgian court gives additional 4.5-year sentence to former President Saakashvili

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - A court in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on Monday gave former President Mikheil Saakashvili an additional four-and-a-half year sentence in prison, almost a week after he was given a nine-year sentence for embezzling public funds.

Georgian public broadcaster 1TV reported that the Tbilisi City Court found Saakashvili, who served as Georgia’s third president between 2004 and 2013, guilty of illegally crossing the country’s border.

Considering the cumulative nature of Saakashvili’s convictions, Tbilisi City Court Judge Mikheil Jinjolia ultimately gave the former president a total sentence of 12-and-a-half years.

On Wednesday, the Tbilisi City 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.

Saakashvili was arrested by Georgian authorities over illegally crossing the border back in October 2021, ahead of the country's 2021 local elections.

Currently, he is under treatment at the Vivamedi Civilian Clinic in Tbilisi, where he was transferred from detention in May 2022 after a prolonged hunger strike.

A Georgian court in 2018 also sentenced Saakashvili to six years in prison for two separate cases of abuse of power as the head of state.