POLITICS
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Georgian court increases Saakashvili’s prison term to over decade
The ex-president's total prison sentence reached twelve and a half years after a ruling on border crossing.
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Georgian court increases Saakashvili’s prison term to over decade
International groups criticize the political nature of Mikheil Saakashvili's prosecution.
March 17, 2025

A Georgian court on Monday sentenced ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili to four and a half years behind bars for illegally crossing the border, bringing the pro-Western politician's total sentence to 12.5 years.

Saakashvili, 57, was sentenced in absentia in 2018 to six years in prison for abuse of office and, last week, he received a nine-year sentence for misspending public funds.

He began serving the term in 2021, when he returned to the country from exile.

On Monday, Saakashvili was sentenced to "four years and six months in prison for illegally crossing Georgia's border" when he covertly returned from exile in Ukraine, lawyer Dito Sadzaglishvili told AFP.

"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.

RelatedIs Georgia's pro-EU president secretly pushing a 'Deep State' agenda?

SOURCE:AFP
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