(Read full article on civil.ge)

The Supreme Court of Georgia today sentenced 10 years in prison in absentia for UNM-era Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili over the case of embezzling over EUR 5 million, Kezerashvili’s defense lawyer Giorgi Gelkhauri confirmed to Civil.ge. As per the amnesty Kezerashvili’s sentence will be halved, however.

The ruling by the three-judge panel of Shalva Tadumadze, Levan Tevzadze and Merab Gabinashvili, which overturns 2017 acquittal decision of the Court of Appeals, is yet to be published. Tadumadze back then served as Prosecutor General.

Kezerashvili, who is 51% shareholder of Georgian Dream government-critical Formula TV, dismissed today the sentence as politically motivated, noting he will appeal the “shameful” ruling in the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights.

He accused Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili of orchestrating the court process. “That is exactly him who thinks this will blackmail me or the television I support.”