Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was sentenced to nine years in prison on Wednesday on charges of embezzlement.

The Tbilisi City Court ruled that Saakashvili was guilty of embezzling budgetary funds.

The former head of the Special State Protection Service, Teimuraz Janashia, was fined 300,000 Georgian lari (roughly €99,936; $108,125) as part of the same embezzlement case.

Saakashvili has faced multiple charges of abuse of power. He is already serving a six-year sentence after being convicted in 2018 for ordering riot police to beat then-lawmaker Valery Gelashvili in 2005 and for pardoning Interior Ministry officials convicted of involvement in the 2006 murder of bank employee Sandro Girgvliani.

Who is Saakashvili?

A controversial figure in Georgia, Saakashvili served as president from 2004 to 2013 before going into self-imposed exile in Ukraine for seven years. He was arrested in 2021 upon his return to Georgia.

Saakashvili rose to prominence in 2003 in Georgia after leading the Rose Revolution, a peaceful movement that ousted then-President Eduard Shevardnadze, a former Soviet official.

Fluent in English and partly educated in the United States, he presented himself as a staunch reformer and anti-corruption advocate.

During his presidency, he was widely credited with implementing significant reforms that modernized Georgia’s economy and governance.

Saakashvili's reaction to the verdict

Hours before the sentencing, Saakashvili called for a postponement in a post on Facebook, citing health issues and his desire to attend the hearing in person.

Following the verdict, he maintained his innocence, stating in a Facebook post, "I was sentenced to practically life in prison for official expenses of the office.'' 

None of the defendants in the case, including Saakashvili, were present in court for the ruling.

Health concerns and allegations of mistreatment

Since his 2021 arrest, Saakashvili has spent most of his time in the hospital.

In a 2023 interview with DW, he claimed he was "physically and psychologically tortured systematically'' while in prison.

In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) examined whether Georgian authorities acted lawfully when bringing criminal charges against Saakashvili in 2014.

The court ruled that "the authorities' honest desire was to bring the applicant to justice for his wrongdoing and that, in the absence of sufficient evidence to the contrary, the allegation of an ulterior motive is unsubstantiated.''

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah