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 … Read more
TBILISI, January 22 – Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili appeared in a Tbilisi City Court hearing on Thursday in the long-running case over the events of November 7, 2007, when police cracked down on protesters and the opposition TV station Imedi was raided. The prosecution accuses Saakashvili of ordering a mass dispersal of demonstrators, the … Read more
TBILISI, January 8 – The U.S. military operation in Venezuela has spilled into Georgia’s bitter politics, with rival camps in Tbilisi arguing over who matters more for Georgia’s security and future: Washington or Brussels. The U.S. military operation last Saturday saw special forces capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who later were brought to … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – Georgia’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili has been moved out of a private clinic and back into Rustavi prison in a late night transfer which caused political controversy. The penitentiary service and the Ministry of Health say Saakashvili no longer needs hospital care. Saakashvili, his lawyers, and his family insist that he … Read more
TBILISI, November 7 – Georgia’s opposition leaders and their lawyers pushed back Friday after prosecutors opened criminal proceedings against eight opposition figures, including former president Mikheil Saakashvili, on counts ranging from “sabotage” to aiding a foreign power’s hostile activity. The Prosecutor General’s Office has also asked a Tbilisi court to set bail for Lelo party … Read more
TBILISI, October 10 – Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili criticizes the ongoing arrests linked to the October 4 unrest outside the presidential residence, calling the situation a sign that “everyone” is now at risk of imprisonment regardless of background or profession. In a lengthy post published Friday on his official Facebook page, Saakashvili reacted to … Read more
TBILISI, September 29 – A court in Tbilisi has ruled that former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili and a former top security official must repay nearly 9 million lari (about USD 3.3 million) to the state budget over the alleged misuse of public funds. The decision, issued by Judge Aleksandre Gzirishvili of Tbilisi City Court, sided … Read more
TBILISI, September 25 – With Georgia’s hotly contested October 4 local elections just days away, opposition party Lelo is weighing whether to show up at a major street rally in Tbilisi the same evening. The move could put the party on a collision course with other opposition groups that have vowed to boycott the vote. … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Mikheil Saakashvili, the imprisoned former president of Georgia, has issued a stark warning about the country’s healthcare system, predicting its collapse within a year due to alleged widespread corruption and chronic underfunding. Writing on social media from detention, Saakashvili claimed that massive corruption in Georgia’s public health insurance system is driving medical professionals out … Read more
The ambassadors of the EU member states warned the Georgian government at a meeting behind closed doors that the situation surrounding the former president Mikheil Saakashvili could put an end to Georgia’s European aspirations, Tbilisi-based Russian-language news website Sova reports relying on its own sources. At Wednesday’s meeting with Justice Minister Rati Bregadze, the heads … Read more