Georgia’s former President Saakashvili sentenced to part-time home arrest

Kiev’s Court of Appeals turned down the previous verdict of the Pechersk District Court and sent Georgia’s third President Mikheil Saakashvili to home detention for charges related to the alleged support of criminal groups.

Saakashvili will have to remain indoors from 10 pm to 7am and must wear an electronic bracelet to be remotely observed by law enforcers.

The prosecution demanded 24-hour home arrest, but the court only partially met the demand.

After hearing the verdict Saakashvili called the court judges "creatures sold for money” and announced large-scale rallies to end "Poroshenko’s regime.”

• Saakashvili, who also faces several charges in Georgia, was detained in Kiev on December 5, 2017, but was shortly released by his supporters form the police van.  
• Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko stated that Saakashvili was accused of cooperating and supporting criminal groups led by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia after his ousting in 2014.
• The prosecutor claimed that Saakashvili was an element of the "Russian plot” against Ukraine.
• Saakashvili hailed the charges as "funny” and said that the "corrupt Ukrainian leadership” was trying to silence him and remove him from the country’s politics.
• After holding rallies in front of Ukraine’s legislative body Saakashvili was detained again on December 8.
• The next day prosecutors stated that they would ask a court to send Saakashvili into house arrest with electronic monitoring pending a trial.
• Judge Larysa Tsokol, from the Kiev Pechersk District Court, released the former president from the court and fully dismissed the prosecution’s motion.
• After his second term as the president expired in Georgia in 2013,  Saakashvili moved to Ukraine to assist his one-time ally, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during the period of intense confrontations with Russia.
• Having served as the Odessa Governor in 2015-2016 Saakashvili accused Poroshenko of lobbying corruption and created the Movement of New Forces to change the Ukrainian leadership.