TBILISI, February 11 – Georgia’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili told a court on Tuesday that he expects his total prison sentence to reach 16 years as prosecutors pursue additional charges in what authorities describe as a case involving crimes against the state.
“I expect another three years. I will have 16 years,” Saakashvili said during the hearing. He compared the potential sentence to penalties given for serious violent crimes and said he may never see his children again.
Saakashvili is charged under Article 317 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which concerns public calls to violently change the constitutional order or overthrow state authority. Prosecutors have described the broader investigation as involving sabotage, assistance to hostile foreign activity, financing activity against the constitutional order, and calls to overthrow the government.
In earlier reporting, Saakashvili said one of the key questions during his interrogation concerned a social media post in which he urged people to “take a selfie with Ivanishvili’s shark.” He said the charge against him is based on that statement.
The reference appears to relate to a public aquarium shark located at the residence of Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili in Shekvetili. In September 2025, members of the United National Movement held a symbolic protest near the residence, bringing toy animals including a shark.
Saakashvili has described the case as political and said he was questioned about whether the “shark selfie” post constituted incitement. He said he rejects the charge and called the case absurd. In court on Tuesday, he also referred to a childhood shark incident and a dream involving roasting a shark in Sololaki, the Tbilisi neighborhood where Ivanishvili’s residence in located.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze previously responded to Saakashvili’s shark-related remarks by saying the former president should be more cautious in his statements and that his words carry no value.
Several other opposition figures face charges in the same case.
Giorgi Vashadze and Zurab Girchi Japaridze are charged under Articles 318 and 319, which relate to sabotage and assisting hostile activities against a foreign state and carry potential prison terms of seven to fifteen years. Elene Khoshtaria faces additional charges including financing activity against the constitutional order. Nika Gvaramia, Nika Melia, Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze are charged under Article 318 for sabotage.
Vashadze and Japaridze were released on 30,000 lari (11,000 USD) bail. Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze were granted 1 million lari (372,000 USD) bail.
Saakashvili and several co-defendants deny wrongdoing and say the case is politically motivated, while the prosecution maintains that the charges concern crimes against state security.
