Former head of Odesa regional state administration Saakashvili transferred from hospital to colony

The former head of the Odesa Regional State Administration Mikheil Saakashvili has been discharged from the clinic and returned to the colony. Doctors have recognized his condition as stable, so the former president will continue to serve his sentence in normal conditions.

This was reported by the Penitentiary Service of Georgia.

According to the Georgian Penitentiary Service, Saakashvili has been treated at the private Vivamed clinic since May 2022. Now that his condition is assessed as satisfactory, he no longer needs inpatient treatment, so he was transferred back to Penal Colony #12 to continue serving his sentence. According to Georgian law, the decision to return a patient from a civilian medical facility to prison is made by a doctor.

Saakashvili has been convicted in Georgia on several cases, including embezzlement of public funds and illegal border crossing, and was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. Recently, the prosecutor's office opened a new case against him and seven other oppositionists for allegedly calling for the overthrow of the government. Meanwhile, the authorities are trying to have the former president's United National Movement party declared unconstitutional.

In September, the Tbilisi Court of Appeal upheld the first instance verdict, according to which Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia and former head of the Odesa Regional State Administration, must pay the state up to 9 million GEL (approximately $3 million). Earlier, in March 2025, the Tbilisi City Court found him guilty of illegally crossing the borders of Georgia and sentenced him to 4 years and 6 months in prison.

Prior to that, the politician received nine years for embezzlement of budget funds, and he has already served part of his sentence - six years. The prosecutor's office stated that from May 1, 2009 to February 25, 2013, on the initiative and under the leadership of Saakashvili, 9 million GEL was illegally spent from the state budget for his personal needs, which at the time amounted to about 5.4 million USD.

In addition, he was convicted in cases related to the pardoning of the murderers of Sandro Girgvliani and the beating of MP Valerie Gelashvili. The former president and former head of Odesa region was detained by Georgian law enforcement in early October 2021.

Анна Бальчінос