According to the non-governmental organization Transparency International – Georgia, the name of the third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, will be included in the list of political prisoners compiled by the organization.

According to Transparency International, Mikheil Saakashvili’s lawyer contacted the organization in July 2026 and provided materials regarding specific cases—the so-called " Jackets Case", the border crossing case, and the Imedi TV case—for review.

According to the origination, the criminal cases against Mikheil Saakashvili, which have effectively become a permanent form of prosecution against him, are politically motivated. Furthermore, the conviction entered against him in the so-called “Jackets Case” is unsubstantiated and unjust. Accordingly, he should be considered a political prisoner under the criteria established by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Resolution 1900 (2012).

In addition, as the oragnastion says, the case materials and judgments relating to the criminal proceedings concerning the pardon of persons involved in the crime committed against Sandro Girgvliani and the violence committed against Valeri Gelashvili have remained outside the scope of our analysis and assessment. This is because the European Court of Human Rights has delivered final judgments in relation to these cases and found no violation of Articles 6 or 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of Mikheil Saakashvili.

“The application of Article 182 of the Criminal Code in the case under consideration is contrary to Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights (nullum crimen sine lege—no crime without law), which prohibits the extensive interpretation of criminal-law provisions to the detriment of the accused.

Since neither lawful possession of the property nor direct acquisitive intent has been established, the conviction entered against Mikheil Saakashvili is unjust and unsubstantiated. It is therefore also incompatible with the principles of a fair trial guaranteed by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Having regard to the fundamental principles governing criminal responsibility and sentencing, the imposition of a nine-year prison sentence on Mikheil Saakashvili in the so-called “Jackets Case” is manifestly unjust and contrary to the principle of proportionality.

First and foremost, where a person is convicted under a provision whose constituent elements have not been established, the imposition of the penalty prescribed by that provision automatically becomes unjust and disproportionate.

However, even if the courts' judgments concerning the alleged commission of “embezzlement” by Mikheil Saakashvili had been substantiated—which they were not—the imposition of a nine-year prison sentence, close to the maximum penalty provided for by Article 182 of the Criminal Code, would in itself be disproportionate.

Article 182(3) provides for a term of imprisonment of between seven and eleven years. As we have already seen, a substantial proportion of the expenditures characterized as “misuse” were, in reality, expenditures made for legitimate and intended purposes.

Furthermore, even if individual expenditures revealed a breach of budgetary discipline or an abuse or excess of official authority, such conduct would constitute either an administrative violation or, at worst, another criminal offence, rather than a particularly serious offence against State property. The corresponding sanction would therefore have been less severe.

In light of these circumstances, the imposition of a nine-year prison sentence on Mikheil Saakashvili violates Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the prohibition of punishment without law.

Because of the extensive interpretation of the law to the detriment of the accused, the failure to differentiate between individual expenditures and the artificial aggravation of criminal responsibility, the sanction constitutes a politically motivated, unjust and manifestly disproportionate punishment”, reads the statement.

According to the organization, from the perspective of Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights (limitation on use of restrictions on rights), the imposition of a disproportionate sentence in the “Jackets Case” and the other cases clearly reveals the authorities' unlawful strategic objectives, long-term political purposes. Namely, the sentence imposed on Mikheil Saakashvili in the “Jackets Case”—nine years' imprisonment, and ultimately 12 years and 6 months following the aggregation of sentences—points precisely to the existence of an ulterior purpose:

• The manifest disproportionality of the sentence: The extensive interpretation of the criminal-law provision, Article 182 of the Criminal Code, to the detriment of the accused, and the characterization of the President's representation and state-related expenditures as unlawful embezzlement, indicate that the official purpose of the administration of justice is merely a “pretext”.
• The degree of disproportionality: Where the conduct amounts, at most, to a breach of budgetary discipline or an official rule, the imposition of a nine-year prison sentence serves the purpose of retaliation or political neutralization rather than the restoration of justice.
• The statement of the former Prime Minister: A telling example of the authorities' ulterior purpose is the statement made by the then Prime Minister Gharibashvili in October 2021: “He should behave himself, otherwise we will add other charges and bring the others along as well.”

According to the organization, it should be specifically emphasised that, in the absence of the new, unsubstantiated and/or disproportionately lengthy prison sentences imposed on Mikheil Saakashvili, he would have been released from prison on 30 September 2027.

The criminal prosecution and convictions of Mikheil Saakashvili, particularly in the so-called “Jackets Case”, meet several criteria for political imprisonment established by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Resolution 1900 (2012).

Under the above Resolution, “[a] person deprived of his or her personal liberty is to be regarded as a ‘political prisoner’:

1. if the detention has been imposed in violation of one of the fundamental guarantees set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols (ECHR), in particular freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression and information, freedom of assembly and association;
2. if the detention has been imposed for purely political reasons without connection to any offence;
3. if, for political motives, the length of the detention or its conditions are clearly out of proportion to the offence the person has been found guilty of or is suspected of;
4. if, for political motives, he or she is detained in a discriminatory manner as compared to other persons; or,
5. if the detention is the result of proceedings which were clearly unfair and this appears to be connected with political motives of the authorities.”

As discussed above, the conviction in the “Jackets Case” is contrary to the fundamental principle of legality (nullum crimen sine lege). The constituent elements of embezzlement under Article 182 of the Criminal Code have not been established because the budgetary funds were not in the President's lawful possession or control, the expenditures were not individualized, and direct acquisitive intent has not been demonstrated.

Against this background, the imposition of a nine-year prison sentence, close to the maximum penalty provided for by the relevant provision, constitutes manifestly excessive and disproportionate punishment and directly indicates the political motivation underlying the legal proceedings.

Furthermore, the combination of cases and the determination of a 12-year-and-6-month term of imprisonment through the aggregation of sentences—a term that may increase further in light of the pending cases—reveals a dominant ulterior political purpose.

The permanent criminal prosecution and the imposition of such a lengthy period of imprisonment go beyond the objectives of restoring justice and serve to ensure the long-term isolation of the country's former President and principal opposition leader from several electoral cycles (“Political Sterilization”).

These circumstances violate Articles 6, 7 and 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights and, pursuant to criteria (a), (c), (d) and (e) of Resolution 1900 (2012), provide a full legal basis for regarding Mikheil Saakashvili as a political prisoner.

Accordingly, Mikheil Saakashvili's name will be included in the list of political prisoners compiled by our organization”, reads the statement released by the organization.