“There was a period when Transparency International Georgia tried not to openly demonstrate its political bias, but now they no longer refrain from doing so,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists in Leuville in response to a statement by Transparency International Georgia.

According to him, state budget funds were misused under the previous government, including for covering family members’ education expenses, while the organization is now attempting to give a political context to the case involving former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

“There was a period when Transparency International Georgia tried not to openly demonstrate its political bias, but now they no longer refrain from doing so. Everyone knows exactly what case we are talking about - state budget funds were being misused. Imagine that even the education expenses of family members were being paid from the state budget. I will say nothing about specific luxury items or the vacations of public officials at various resorts abroad.

“Imagine if one such case occurred today and what a strong negative reaction it would provoke from society. Today, this party-affiliated organization is going so far as to attempt to give this case a political context, which is absolutely unimaginable,” the Prime Minister said.

For reference, Transparency International Georgia said that the name of former President Mikheil Saakashvili would be included in the political prisoners list compiled by the organization. According to the NGO, in July 2026, Saakashvili’s lawyer contacted the organization and provided materials concerning several cases for review, including the so-called “jackets” case, the border-crossing case and the case involving Imedi TV.

According to Transparency International Georgia’s assessment, the conviction against former President Mikheil Saakashvili in the so-called “jackets” case is unfounded and unjust, while the ongoing proceedings against him are politically motivated. The organization said Saakashvili meets four of the five criteria for political prisoners set out in Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Resolution 1900 (2012).

The organization further stated that, based on fundamental principles governing criminal liability and sentencing, Saakashvili’s nine-year prison sentence in the so-called “jackets” case is substantively unjust and contrary to the principle of proportionality.