Saakashvili has five years left in prison.

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is scheduled to be sentenced on March 17. Previously, he was accused of attempted murder of a deputy, abuse of office and embezzlement of budget funds, and now of illegally crossing the border. Thanks to Georgian legislation, Saakashvili will be released no later than 2030 anyway. However, the ruling Georgian Dream may find some particularly serious crime for the ex-president.

In 2013, Saakashvili left Georgia without waiting for the end of his presidential term. He made this decision due to the fact that in 2012 his United National Movement (UNM) party lost the parliamentary elections, and in 2013 his presidential candidate failed. In both cases, the Georgian Dream, which still rules Georgia, won. The new authorities did not hide their dislike for Saakashvili and promised voters to punish him for the crimes he committed as head of state.

Anyway, during his immigration, Saakashvili managed to make a political career in Ukraine, simultaneously losing his Georgian citizenship. Among other things, he himself became the governor of the Odessa region and placed his associates in important positions in the Verkhovna Rada and law enforcement agencies. However, by the end of 2021, it became obvious that the former president was unlikely to be able to achieve more. On the other hand, local elections were to be held in Georgia, in which the opposition, led by the UNM, hoped to win in many cities, including Tbilisi and Batumi. In case of failure, the opponents of the Georgian Dream planned to hold mass protests.

By this time, Saakashvili had already been convicted in absentia in two criminal cases. In 2018, he was sentenced to six years in prison for organizing an attack on MP Valery Gelashvili. The reason was an article in one of the local newspapers in which Gelashvili expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that, on the instructions of the president, his property was taken away from him, and also spoke harshly about the personal life of the head of state. In the same year, Saakashvili was sentenced to three years for abuse of office. Bypassing the pardon commission, he reduced the sentences of former high-ranking police officers guilty of murdering bank employee Sandro Girgvliani.

In this regard, Saakashvili could not openly return to his homeland – he would have been immediately imprisoned. So he decided to sneak in. At about 23:00 on September 28, 2021, he arrived from Chernomorsk, Ukraine, at the port of Poti on the ship Vilnius. From there, he hitchhiked to Batumi. However, on October 1, he was finally caught.

“During my presidency, the lives of ordinary people were much better than they are now. This applies to the exchange rate of the national currency and unemployment. It is a tragedy when crowds of Georgians come to Poland from Georgia for seasonal work. In recent years, almost 700,000 citizens have emigrated from Georgia. This is a tragedy that is happening before our eyes. I couldn’t sit in Kiev and watch my country fall apart,” Saakashvili explained his return.

He now faces up to five years in prison for illegally crossing the border. In addition, the day before he was sentenced to nine years in prison for embezzlement of budget funds. According to the authorities, from 2009 to 2013, he embezzled and embezzled about 8.8 million lari (at that time – about 5.9 million dollars). The money was used to buy clothes, plastic surgery, rent planes, mistresses, etc.

“There are receipts for dinner and other expenses related to the reception of Donald Trump in Tbilisi and Batumi in 2012,” Saakashvili said. At the same time, he refuses to admit his guilt, as he has never hidden these expenses, considering them part of ensuring the president’s life.

Saakashvili says the Georgian Dream is going to keep him in prison until he dies. However, due to the peculiarities of Georgian legislation, taking into account all the deadlines, Saakashvili will be released no later than October 2030. The fact is that in the republic, serving a sentence is counted from the day of detention. At the same time, the longest period absorbs the shorter ones.