A court in Tbilisi has found imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili guilty of illegally crossing the border and sentenced him to an additional four years and six months in prison.
Since Saakashvili had already been sentenced to nine years in previous cases, a judge at the Tbilisi City Court decided that the former president will now serve a total of 12 years and six months behind bars.
According to the verdict, Saakashvili will remain in prison until April 1, 2034, Radio Free Europe reports.
Speaking via video link from the Vivamedi clinic in Tbilisi during a separate trial, Saakashvili strongly condemned the verdict.
"This verdict aims to destroy me in prison, to physically eliminate me," Saakashvili said.
He said he still poses a threat to his political opponents.
"You cannot destroy the idea of a free Georgia or the soul of Saakashvili. We are fighting and we will win," Saakashvili said.
Saakashvili, who was wanted by Georgian authorities, secretly returned to Georgia on September 29, 2021, after years of self-imposed exile. He was arrested two days later, on October 1. Prosecutors charge him with illegal border crossing.
Last week, a judge at the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Saakashvili to an additional nine years in prison for large-scale embezzlement of public funds.
The judge decided that the sentence should run concurrently with the six-year prison sentence that Saakashvili was already serving for abuse of office.
Saakashvili, president of Georgia from 2003 to 2013, has consistently denied all allegations.
His staunch denial of guilt, supported by the opposition United National Movement party and several other political groups, has won the sympathy and support of many Georgians. Many claim that the case was motivated by political revenge.
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