{"id":105402,"date":"2025-03-12T09:11:28","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T09:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/in-georgia-the-sentence-of-ex-president-mikheil-saakachvili-weighs-down-nine-years-in-prison-for-embezzlement\/"},"modified":"2025-03-12T09:11:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T09:11:29","slug":"in-georgia-the-sentence-of-ex-president-mikheil-saakachvili-weighs-down-nine-years-in-prison-for-embezzlement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/in-georgia-the-sentence-of-ex-president-mikheil-saakachvili-weighs-down-nine-years-in-prison-for-embezzlement\/","title":{"rendered":"In Georgia, the sentence of ex-president Mikhe\u00efl Saakachvili weighs down nine years in prison for embezzlement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<figure class=\"article__media\"> <picture class=\"article__media\"><source srcset=\" https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/03\/12\/0\/0\/4645\/3097\/556\/0\/75\/0\/c7508bf_ftp-import-images-1-c0wnn9tt6bzq-5293851-01-06.jpg 556w, https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/03\/12\/0\/0\/4645\/3097\/600\/0\/75\/0\/c7508bf_ftp-import-images-1-c0wnn9tt6bzq-5293851-01-06.jpg 600w, https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/03\/12\/0\/0\/4645\/3097\/664\/0\/75\/0\/c7508bf_ftp-import-images-1-c0wnn9tt6bzq-5293851-01-06.jpg 664w, https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/03\/12\/0\/0\/4645\/3097\/700\/0\/75\/0\/c7508bf_ftp-import-images-1-c0wnn9tt6bzq-5293851-01-06.jpg 700w, https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/03\/12\/0\/0\/4645\/3097\/800\/0\/75\/0\/c7508bf_ftp-import-images-1-c0wnn9tt6bzq-5293851-01-06.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1024px) 556px, 100vw\" alt=\"L\u2019ancien pr\u00e9sident g\u00e9orgien emprisonn\u00e9 Mikhe\u00efl Saakachvili appara\u00eet sur un \u00e9cran par liaison vid\u00e9o, le 27\u00a0octobre 2023.\" width=\"664\" height=\"443\"><\/source><\/picture> <noscript> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.lemde.fr\/2025\/03\/12\/0\/0\/4645\/3097\/664\/0\/75\/0\/c7508bf_ftp-import-images-1-c0wnn9tt6bzq-5293851-01-06.jpg\" alt=\"The former Georgian president imprisoned Mikhe\u00efl Saakachvili appeared on a screen by video link, on October 27, 2023.\"\/> <\/noscript><figcaption class=\"article__legend\" aria-hidden=\"true\">The former Georgian president imprisoned Mikhe\u00efl Saakachvili appeared on a screen by video link, on October 27, 2023.  <span class=\"article__credit\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Iraqli GEDENIDZE \/ AFP<\/span>  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph \">A Georgian court increased on Wednesday, March 12, the sentence of the ex-president of this country of the Caucasus, Mikhe\u00efl Saakachvili, already sentenced and imprisoned, on Wednesday, March 12, for nine years in prison, for embezzlement, his lawyer (AFP) announced its lawyer, Dito Sadzaglichvili.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph \">In 2018, Mr. Saakachvili, 57, had been sentenced in absentia to six years in prison for abuse of power, accusations which, according to human rights NGOs, were political. He has served this sentence since his arrest in Georgia, in 2021, when he returned from exile in Ukraine. Wednesday, the municipal court of Tbilissi <em>&#8220;Has condemned Mr. Saakachvili to nine years in prison&#8221;<\/em>adding three years of detention to the initial sentence, according to his lawyer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph \">The Georgian justice has recognized the ex-president guilty of having diverted 9 million Lari (approximately 3 million euros) of budgetary funds between 2004 and 2013 when he was in power in Georgia, said the council of the former president, denouncing charges <em>&#8220;Climb from scratch&#8221;<\/em>. Incarcerated in 2021, Mikhe\u00efl Saakachvili has been hospitalized in Tbilisi since 2022 and has not attended the hearing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"catcher catcher--favoris\">\n<div class=\"catcher__content\"><span class=\"catcher__title catcher__title--hide\">Read also |<\/span><span class=\"catcher__desc\">  <span class=\"icon__premium\"><span class=\"sr-only\">Article reserved for our subscribers<\/span><\/span>    In Georgia, power strengthens its repressive arsenal <\/span> <\/div>\n<p> <button class=\"lmd-btn-icon lmd-btn-icon--primary lmd-btn-icon--m js-lmd-dropdown-favorite-toggler\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-haspopup=\"true\" aria-controls=\"lmd-dropdown-favorite\" aria-label=\"Lire plus tard\" data-article-id=\"3404001\" data-position=\"lire aussi\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/international\/article\/2024\/12\/31\/en-georgie-le-pouvoir-renforce-son-arsenal-repressif_6474687_3210.html\" data-status=\"\"> <span class=\"icon__favorites\"\/> <span class=\"js-btn-icon-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Read later<\/span> <\/button> <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"article__sub-title\">The European Parliament calls for its immediate release<\/h2>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph \"><em>&#8220;He suffers from several chronic diseases, and his state of health deteriorates periodically&#8221;<\/em>according to Zourab Tchka\u00efdz\u00e9, director of the Vivamed hospital where Mr. Saakachvili is treated. The European Parliament called for his immediate release, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked that Mikhe\u00efl Saakachvili, who has had a Ukrainian passport since 2019, be transferred to kyiv.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph \">Mr. Saakachvili, who studied in the United States and France and speaks fluent in the United States, was brought to power after having led in 2003 in Georgia the &#8220;Rose Revolution&#8221;, which had peacefully ousted the old elites inherited from the Soviet period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph \">During his presidency, Mr. Saakachvili led an effective crusade against corruption, reformed a police notoriously affected by this scourge, imprisoned criminal leaders and rebuilt ruined infrastructure. But many criticisms have denounced under his presidency of attacks on freedoms and an authoritarian penchant, citing in particular the violent repression of antigan demonstrations. He is today the main figure in the opposition.<\/p>\n<section class=\"catcher catcher--favoris\">\n<div class=\"catcher__content\"><span class=\"catcher__title catcher__title--hide\">Read also |<\/span><span class=\"catcher__desc\">  <span class=\"icon__premium\"><span class=\"sr-only\">Article reserved for our subscribers<\/span><\/span>    Mikhe\u00efl Saakachvili, ex-president of Georgia: &#8220;The Russians want to take their revenge&#8221; <\/span> <\/div>\n<p> <button class=\"lmd-btn-icon lmd-btn-icon--primary lmd-btn-icon--m js-lmd-dropdown-favorite-toggler\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-haspopup=\"true\" aria-controls=\"lmd-dropdown-favorite\" aria-label=\"Lire plus tard\" data-article-id=\"3373469\" data-position=\"lire aussi\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/international\/article\/2024\/05\/17\/mikheil-saakachvili-ex-president-de-la-georgie-les-russes-veulent-prendre-leur-revanche_6233845_3210.html\" data-status=\"\"> <span class=\"icon__favorites\"\/> <span class=\"js-btn-icon-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Read later<\/span> <\/button> <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"author\">\n<p class=\"author__detail\">  <span class=\"author__name\">The world with AFP<\/span>  <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"article__reactions\">                      Reuse this content   <\/section>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\">Tm-En-1<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former Georgian president imprisoned Mikhe\u00efl Saakachvili appeared on a screen by video link, on October 27, 2023. Iraqli GEDENIDZE \/ AFP A Georgian court increased on Wednesday, March 12, the sentence of the ex-president of this country of the Caucasus, Mikhe\u00efl Saakachvili, already sentenced and imprisoned, on Wednesday, March 12, for nine years in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":105403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9989,6519,9239,23400,895,23401,3055,23402,45],"class_list":["post-105402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-embezzlement","tag-expresident","tag-georgia","tag-mikheil","tag-prison","tag-saakachvili","tag-sentence","tag-weighs","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}