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Euronews
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Georgia ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili handed second prison sentence
A Georgian court sentenced former President Mikheil Saakashvili to another prison term on Monday, extending his imprisonment time to 12 and a half years. Saakashvili, who served as Georgia's president from 2004-2013, had previously been sentenced on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement that he and his defence have rejected as politically motivated. Judge Badri Kochlamazashvili sentenced the 57-year-old ex-president to an extra four years and six months on charges of illegal border crossing, adding time to his existing sentence. Speaking by videoconference, Saakashvili dismissed the verdict as an 'absolutely illegal, unjust sentencing of me for crimes I have not committed.' 'They want to annihilate me in prison,' he said. "But no matter what, I will fight till the end,' he vowed. According to his lawyer, Beka Basilaia, Monday's verdict "again showed that Saakashvili is a political prisoner." Saakashvili is also accused of repressing demonstrators who claimed that his fervour had turned into dictatorship. The former president, who led the country in a more pro-Western direction, led the so-called Rose Revolution protests in 2003 that drove his predecessor out of office and enacted a series of ambitious reforms tackling official corruption. In 2008, he oversaw a brief but intense war with Russia that ended with the humiliating loss of the remaining Georgian bases in two separatist territories. His reign was brought to an end in the 2012 election when the then newly formed Georgian Dream Party defeated Saakashvili's United National Movement party. Saakashvili left for Ukraine in 2013 and became a citizen. From 2015 to 2016, he governed the southern Odesa region. However, he was swiftly detained when he returned to Georgia in October 2021 in an attempt to strengthen opposition forces before the national municipal elections. Saakashvili's lawyer on Monday accused the ruling Georgian Dream of influencing the latest extension of the ex-Georgian leader's prison term. "As long as Georgian Dream remains in power, the judiciary is a farce and will make whatever decision it is instructed to,' Basilaia said. Since 2012, when Saakashvili was ousted from office, the Georgian Dream Party has remained in power and itself has recently been facing criticisms and popular protests on allegations of a crackdown on democratic freedoms. The party is also accused of steering the country away from the path toward European Union membership and back into Russia's sphere of influence. After going on multiple hunger strikes, Saakashvili is currently being treated at the Vivamedi facility, where he is being monitored for a number of chronic illnesses, according to the clinic.
The Hill
17-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Georgia ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili's prison terms now total over 12 years after latest verdict
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A court in Georgia on Monday handed another prison sentence to former President Mikheil Saakashvili, extending his total imprisonment to 12½ years, in a verdict that he denounced as illegal. Saakashvili, who served as Georgia's president from 2004-2013, had previously been sentenced on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement that he and his defense have rejected as politically motivated. On Monday, the court sentenced him to four years and six months on charges of illegal border crossing. With his previous sentences accumulated, he now has to serve 12 years and six months behind bars. Saakashvili, speaking by videoconference, dismissed Monday's verdict as an 'absolutely illegal, unjust sentencing of me for crimes I have not committed.' 'They want to annihilate me in prison,' he said. 'But no matter what, I will fight till the end.' Saakashvili, who led the so-called Rose Revolution protests in 2003 that drove his predecessor out of office, enacted a serious of ambitious reforms tacking official corruption as president of the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million. He also presided over a short but fierce war with Russia in 2008 that ended with the humiliating loss of its last footholds in two separatist territories, and he cracked down on protesters who charged that his zeal had mutated into autocracy. In 2012, Saakashvili's United National Movement party lost the election to the Georgian Dream party established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia. Georgian Dream has remained in power ever since, tightening its grip on democratic freedoms and drawing accusations from the opposition of steering the country away from the path toward European Union membership and back into Russia's sphere of influence. Saakashvili left for Ukraine in 2013, obtained Ukrainian citizenship and served as a governor of the country's southern Odesa region from 2015-16. He returned to Georgia in October 2021 to try to bolster opposition forces before nationwide municipal elections and was quickly arrested. The former president spent much of his time behind bars in a prison hospital after going on a hunger strikes and later claiming that he had been poisoned. He is currently receiving medical treatment at the Vivamedi Clinic, where he is being monitored for several chronic conditions, and his health reportedly worsens periodically, according to the clinic. Saakashvili's lawyer, Beka Basilaia, said that Monday's verdict again showed that Saakashvili is a political prisoner. 'As long as Georgian Dream remains in power, the judiciary is a farce and will make whatever decision it is instructed to,' Basilaia said.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili's prison terms now total 12½ years after latest verdict
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A court in Georgia on Monday handed another prison sentence to former President Mikheil Saakashvili, extending his total imprisonment to 12½ years, in a verdict that he denounced as illegal. Saakashvili, who served as Georgia's president from 2004-2013, had previously been sentenced on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement that he and his defense have rejected as politically motivated. On Monday, the court sentenced him to four years and six months on charges of illegal border crossing. With his previous sentences accumulated, he now has to serve 12 years and six months behind bars. Saakashvili, speaking by videoconference, dismissed Monday's verdict as an 'absolutely illegal, unjust sentencing of me for crimes I have not committed.' 'They want to annihilate me in prison,' he said. "But no matter what, I will fight till the end.' Saakashvili, who led the so-called Rose Revolution protests in 2003 that drove his predecessor out of office, enacted a serious of ambitious reforms tacking official corruption as president of the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million. He also presided over a short but fierce war with Russia in 2008 that ended with the humiliating loss of its last footholds in two separatist territories, and he cracked down on protesters who charged that his zeal had mutated into autocracy. In 2012, Saakashvili's United National Movement party lost the election to the Georgian Dream party established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia. Georgian Dream has remained in power ever since, tightening its grip on democratic freedoms and drawing accusations from the opposition of steering the country away from the path toward European Union membership and back into Russia's sphere of influence. Saakashvili left for Ukraine in 2013, obtained Ukrainian citizenship and served as a governor of the country's southern Odesa region from 2015-16. He returned to Georgia in October 2021 to try to bolster opposition forces before nationwide municipal elections and was quickly arrested. The former president spent much of his time behind bars in a prison hospital after going on a hunger strikes and later claiming that he had been poisoned. He is currently receiving medical treatment at the Vivamedi Clinic, where he is being monitored for several chronic conditions, and his health reportedly worsens periodically, according to the clinic. Saakashvili's lawyer, Beka Basilaia, said that Monday's verdict again showed that Saakashvili is a political prisoner. "As long as Georgian Dream remains in power, the judiciary is a farce and will make whatever decision it is instructed to,' Basilaia said.
Associated Press
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Georgia ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili's prison terms now total 12½ years after latest verdict
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A court in Georgia on Monday handed another prison sentence to former President Mikheil Saakashvili, extending his total imprisonment to 12½ years, in a verdict that he denounced as illegal. Saakashvili, who served as Georgia's president from 2004-2013, had previously been sentenced on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement that he and his defense have rejected as politically motivated. On Monday, the court sentenced him to four years and six months on charges of illegal border crossing. With his previous sentences accumulated, he now has to serve 12 years and six months behind bars. Saakashvili, speaking by videoconference, dismissed Monday's verdict as an 'absolutely illegal, unjust sentencing of me for crimes I have not committed.' 'They want to annihilate me in prison,' he said. 'But no matter what, I will fight till the end.' Saakashvili, who led the so-called Rose Revolution protests in 2003 that drove his predecessor out of office, enacted a serious of ambitious reforms tacking official corruption as president of the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million. He also presided over a short but fierce war with Russia in 2008 that ended with the humiliating loss of its last footholds in two separatist territories, and he cracked down on protesters who charged that his zeal had mutated into autocracy. In 2012, Saakashvili's United National Movement party lost the election to the Georgian Dream party established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia. Georgian Dream has remained in power ever since, tightening its grip on democratic freedoms and drawing accusations from the opposition of steering the country away from the path toward European Union membership and back into Russia's sphere of influence. Saakashvili left for Ukraine in 2013, obtained Ukrainian citizenship and served as a governor of the country's southern Odesa region from 2015-16. He returned to Georgia in October 2021 to try to bolster opposition forces before nationwide municipal elections and was quickly arrested. The former president spent much of his time behind bars in a prison hospital after going on a hunger strikes and later claiming that he had been poisoned. He is currently receiving medical treatment at the Vivamedi Clinic, where he is being monitored for several chronic conditions, and his health reportedly worsens periodically, according to the clinic. Saakashvili's lawyer, Beka Basilaia, said that Monday's verdict again showed that Saakashvili is a political prisoner. 'As long as Georgian Dream remains in power, the judiciary is a farce and will make whatever decision it is instructed to,' Basilaia said.
Al Jazeera
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Georgia court hands ex-President Saakashvili further 4.5 years in prison
A Georgian court has sentenced former President Mikheil Saakashvili to four and a half years behind bars for illegally crossing the border. Monday's ruling followed on the heels of a nine-year sentence imposed on Saakashvili last Wednesday and raises the already jailed pro-Western politician's time behind bars to 12 and a half years. Opposition groups insist that the sentences are politically motivated and that the Georgian Dream government, which is accused of abusing democracy and pulling Georgia back towards Russia, is scared of Saakashvili. After being sentenced while out of the country to six years for abuse of power, Saakashvili was first jailed when he returned to Georgia in 2021. Last week, he received nine years for misspending public funds from 2009 to 2012, when he was head of state. On Monday, he received another four years and six months 'for illegally crossing Georgia's border' when he covertly returned from exile in Ukraine, lawyer Dito Sadzaglishvili told the AFP news agency. 'Taking into account the combination of sentences, Mikheil Saakashvili's overall prison term is set at 12 years and six months,' said Judge Mikheil Jinjolia. Saakashvili and opposition groups have denounced his ongoing prosecution as politically motivated. Following last week's sentencing, the former president took to social media to accuse the authorities of engineering the verdict to keep him from mounting a political challenge. 'It was clear from the very beginning that the case was purely political,' he wrote on X, accusing the country's de facto leader Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of Georgian Dream, of ordering his conviction. The United National Movement (UNM) party, previously led by Saakashvili, accused Georgian courts of 'carrying out the orders of the regime, which uses the judiciary to silence opponents'. Western concern A deeply polarising figure, Saakashvili rose to power on a tide of popular acclaim in the 2003 Rose Revolution. In office, he reoriented Georgia towards the West and embarked on an ambitious public sector reform programme that delivered rapid improvements in the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million. However, the latter part of his tenure was marked by police brutality and a disastrous 2008 war with Russia. Reacting to Monday's verdict, Saakashvili accused Georgia's 'pro-Russian regime' of 'cynically punishing' him for 'refusing to surrender Georgia' during Russia's 2008 aggression. The European Parliament, which has condemned Georgian Dream's crackdown on ongoing protests over claims of election meddling and policies perceived as a threat to democracy, has called for Saakashvili's immediate release. The European Union and the United States have urged Georgia to ensure that Saakashvili is provided with medical treatment and that his rights are protected. The Council of Europe rights watchdog has branded him a 'political prisoner', while Amnesty International has called his treatment an 'apparent political revenge'.
