10 February 2020, 23:14
Georgian oppositionist sentenced to real prison term for embezzlement
The court has sentenced Gigi Ugulava, a former Tbilisi Mayor and one of the leaders of the "European Georgia" Party, to three years and two months in prison.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 28, 2018, Ugulava was sentenced to a year and three months in prison within the investigation into an embezzlement of about 20 million US dollars, but found the defendant had already served his term.
The Supreme Court of Georgia has considered the complaint of the Prosecutor's Office against the verdict and sentenced Ugulava three years, two months and eight days in prison.
Gigi Ugulava has written in his Facebook page that he was "punished by schizophrenics."
The judgement will be appealed against at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Beki Basilai, an advocate, said on air of the "Rustavi-2" TV Company.
The verdict was criticized by Nika Meliya, the chairman of the political council of the "United National Movement" (UNM). "There is no precedent in world politics that the leader of an oppositional party to be arrested twice for one and the same thing," he said on air of the "Mtavari Arkhi" TV Company.
In September 2015, Gigi Ugulava was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of several crimes, including the misappropriation of the "Imedi" TV Company and exerting pressure on members of the election commission. As a result of an amnesty, the charge against him was re-qualified, and he was released on January 6, 2017.
Gigi Ugulava has noted that for two years he was kept in a solitary cell and began talking to himself. According to his story, it was a very difficult experience.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 10, 2020 at 06:31 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Galina Gotua, Beslan Kmuzov Source: CK correspondents
