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.

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.