Today, on December 2, the trial of the former President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, on the case of embezzlement of budget funds was held in the Tbilisi City Court.
The former president was charged in 2014 with embezzlement of state property. According to the accusation, from May 1, 2009, to February 25, 2013, 9 024 367.34 GEL belonging to the state budget was misappropriated for Mikheil Saakashvili’s personal purposes. The former head of the Special State Protection Service, Temur Janashia, is also charged with the crime.
Saakashvili was present at the trial and made a speech.
“I was brought to the courtroom three hours ago, the trial started 50 minutes late. It seems you have a lot of time. I do not have much time. I am one of the highest officials in Ukraine. I am an active politician in Georgia, I am a regional political leader and I have my political activities, I really do not have time for wasteful comedies,” Saakashvili stated.
He argued that there was no point in proving the truth in this court. Saakashvili added that those who convict him of shameful charges as a thief of jackets, for undergoing some medical procedures or for wanting to represent the country at the highest level wherever he went and those who came, were well received because it is the instinct of Georgians, but for Russians it is incomprehensible. And these are Russians.
“I want to tell everyone, I’m ready to hear all your complaints, I’m ready to argue with you, to agree with you, and I really hope you’re understanding where I can be right, to agree with you, unlike this court. There is no point in proving the truth here. Or where I am not right, I will agree with you and it will be catharsis and purification process for me as well,” Mikheil Saakashvili said.
The next hearing on the case of embezzlement of budget funds is scheduled for December 27.
By Ketevan Skhirtladze
