On Thursday, May 23, the European Court of Human Rights will make a decision in the case of Saakashvili v. Georgia, UNN reports with reference to Novosti Georgia.
Details
Saakashvili claims that there was an ulterior motive behind the criminal proceedings against him - political persecution.
These are two sentences that were handed down after the change of power in 2018. Saakashvili was sentenced in absentia to six years in prison due to the pardon of convicted high-ranking Interior Ministry officers in the high-profile case of the death of Sandro Girgvliani and for abuse of power in the case of the beating of former MP Valeri Gelashvili. He is currently serving this sentence after returning to Georgia and being detained in 2021.
Saakashvili claims that his defense rights were violated during the proceedings against him. In particular, in Gelashvili's case, the verdicts were based on unverified rumors of two prosecution witnesses and their testimony could not be reliable as they were political opponents.
Regarding the pardoning of the defendants in the Girgvliani case, Saakashvili's lawsuit states that he was prosecuted for exercising the presidential pardon power, which is absolutely in accordance with Georgian domestic law. Saakashvili also claims that the judge who heard the case was neither impartial nor independent.
Let's add
According to the newspaper, a total of four criminal cases were opened against Saakashvili during the Georgian Dream period, two of which resulted in the former head of state being sentenced in absentia to three and six years in prison, respectively. According to the principle of sentence absorption, he must serve six years in prison.
The so-called "Jacket Case," which concerns the embezzlement of GEL 9 million from the state budget, is under consideration along with the case of the dispersal of the opposition rally on November 7, 2007. And a third case was added after Saakashvili's return in the fall of 2021 for illegal border crossing.