UNM’s Tsiskarishvili: Court of Appeal too convicts Mikheil Saakashvili, but Georgian history to vindicate him

“The Court of Appeal too has convicted Mikheil Saakashvili, but I am sure that Georgian history will vindicate him,” declared Petre Tsiskarishvili, a member of the United National Movement opposition party.

According to Tsiskarishvili, “everything has been written in advance in the political offices of the Georgian Dream.”

“This trial has nothing whatsoever to do with the court and, specifically, with independent justice. Everything has been written in advance in the political offices of the Georgian Dream. The judges who read out and deliver these verdicts are their political puppets, members of their political party. Sadly, this is the kind of justice system we have in Georgia.

The Court of Appeal, too, has convicted Mikheil Saakashvili, but I am sure that Georgian history will vindicate him. We are not dealing with a court decision here; we are dealing with the execution of Ivanishvili’s orders. This case has no connection whatsoever to the law, but the Georgian people will undoubtedly give their answer.

History will vindicate both Temur Janashia and, first and foremost, Mikheil Saakashvili. Since 2013, the funds have been spent in exactly the same manner by representatives of the Georgian Dream government, officials at various levels, and the State Security Service, details of which, for some reason, the Georgian Dream regime has chosen to keep confidential. These documents have remained every time, and these are representational expenses, the authority to manage which, and responsibility for which, falls to the highest officials of the state,” Petre Tsiskarishvili stated.

Tbilisi City Court, in a case concerning the embezzlement of budgetary funds, approved the request from the Ministry of Finance and ordered Georgia’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, along with the former head of the State Security Service, Teimuraz Janashia, to pay nearly 9 million lari to the state treasury.

It is important to note that on March 12, 2025, Mikheil Saakashvili was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment in connection with the embezzlement of substantial amounts of budgetary funds. In the same case, the court also convicted the former head of the State Security Service, Temur Janashia. Although his charges were reclassified, Janashia was found guilty of abuse of official authority and was ordered to pay a fine of GEL 300,000.