Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of embezzlement, according to a ruling by the Tbilisi City Court. Saakashvili was found guilty of embezzling budgetary funds, while the former head of the SSPS government security agency, Teimuraz Janashia, was fined 300,000 Georgian lari (€99,936) as part of the same embezzlement case. Saakashvili faces multiple charges of abuse of power and is currently serving a six-year sentence for ordering the beating of a lawmaker in 2005 and pardoning officials convicted of murder in 2006. He rose to prominence in 2003 after leading the Rose Revolution, a peaceful movement that ousted the former Soviet official President Eduard Shevardnadze. Saakashvili called for a postponement before the sentencing, citing health issues and his desire to attend the hearing in person. In a DW interview in 2023, Saakashvili claimed he was tortured in prison. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2023 that Georgian authorities acted lawfully in bringing criminal charges against Saakashvili in 2014.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/georgia-ex-president-saakashvili-jailed-for-9-more-years/a-71896528?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf