Donetsk Court Sentences Georgian Opposition Politician to 6.5 Years for Fighting in Ukraine

2026-02-03 - 13:07

A court in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk sentenced former Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Giorgi Baramidze, now an opposition politician, to six and a half years in jail in absentia, finding him guilty of fighting for Ukraine as a “mercenary,” an accusation for which many Georgian citizens have previously been sentenced in absentia. The Russian General Prosecutor’s Office reported on February 3 that Baramidze arrived in Ukraine “as a mercenary” in February 2022, took part in combat operations against Russian forces until April 2022, and received a “mercenary payment” of more than 238,000 rubles. Sentenced to a general-regime correctional colony, Baramidze has been declared internationally wanted. Giorgi Baramidze is currently an opposition politician in the United National Movement party. He served as deputy prime minister from 2006 to 2012 under UNM rule and had also been a member of the Georgian Parliament at different times. Also Read: 26/12/2025 – Russia-Backed Court Sentences Georgian Medic to 15 Years in Absentia