Tbilisi, Mar. 12, (dpa/GNA) – A court has sentenced the former president of the South Caucasus republic of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, to nine more years in prison, meaning he could remain behind bars until 2030.

The court found him guilty of embezzling state funds, local media reports said on Wednesday.

He was found guilty of misappropriating 9 million Georgian lari ($3.24 million), which he spent on luxury hotels, spas, visits to cosmetic clinics and clothing, the reports said.

Saakashvili was the president of the Black Sea nation from 2004 to 2013. He implemented pro-Western reforms but became increasingly authoritarian.

After his removal from office, he was sentenced in absentia to six years in prison for corruption and inciting bodily harm.

Despite an arrest warrant, Saakashvili, who has since become a Ukrainian citizen, returned to Georgia in 2021. He has been imprisoned there since then, and with the new sentence reported on Wednesday, he is expected to remain in jail until 2030.

The Georgian government holds Saakashvili’s party, the United National Movement, which is currently in opposition, responsible for the brief war with Russia in 2008.

Following the 2008 war, Russia recognized the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. As a result, Georgia lost control over 20% of its territory.

GNA