“The Strasbourg Court has affirmed that Davit Kezerashvili committed a particularly serious crime and upheld the legality of the verdict by Georgian Supreme Court,” Minister of Justice Anri Okhanashvili announced at a briefing.

According to Okhanashvili, the Strasbourg Court’s decision confirmed that Kezerashvili embezzled state funds intended for the Georgian army during his tenure as Minister of Defense and that there was no political persecution against him.

“We would like to inform you about today’s ruling by the Strasbourg Court in the case of Kezerashvili v. Georgia. The Court confirmed that Kezerashvili embezzled a significant amount of money from the state budget allocated for the Georgian army, specifically €5,060,000—approximately 15 million GEL at today’s exchange rate—just before the August 2008 war.

The Court also ruled that there was no political persecution against Kezerashvili and that the verdict of the Supreme Court of Georgia, which found him guilty, was well-founded, with no violation of the presumption of innocence.

We would like to remind the public of the criminal scheme orchestrated by Kezerashvili. While serving as Minister of Defense, shortly before the August 2008 war, he signed a fictitious agreement with an offshore-registered company for the combat training of the Georgian army, bypassing the General Staff of the Defense Forces. In reality, no training took place, and the €5,060,000 allocated for the army was deliberately misused. Additionally, Kezerashvili, who profited from exploiting the Georgian army, sought €15,000 in moral damages from the state in the Strasbourg Court, which the Court rejected.

Considering all these factors, the Strasbourg Court confirmed that Kezerashvili committed a particularly serious crime and upheld the legality of the Supreme Court’s verdict.

I congratulate our state, the Georgian army, and our society on this important victory in the European Court,” said Anri Okhanashvili.