Hero British para faces 12 years in notorious Georgian jail for bringing in medication used to treat spinal injuries from jump in Afghanistan

By ANDREW JEHRING, CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT Published: 18:00, 12 July 2026 | Updated: 18:21, 12 July 2026 A British para hero is languishing in agony facing 12 years in a notorious Georgian jail for entering with medication for spinal injuries from a jump in Afghanistan. Sergeant Matthew 'Des' Desmond, 49, immediately declared the drugs when crossing into the former Soviet republic from Turkey on his Triumph motorbike in April. But despite his medicine exactly matching a monthly prescription he had not obtained local paperwork and was arrested and charged with importing narcotics. Now the highly decorated Iraq and Afghanistan veteran is locked up in Gldani Prison - once ranked one of the worst jails in the world due to sexual abuse of inmates and extreme violence. Sgt Desmond, who received the distinguished Meritorious Service Medal in the late Queen's 90th Birthday Honours, is writhing in agony and 'can barely put one foot in front of the other'. Prison medics only give him medication every other day which numbs just a tenth of his pain, lawyers say. Sister Claire-Louise Rough, 43, who first raised the alarm, said: 'A man who once fought to protect the lives of others is now waiting for justice himself.' Former comrades have also written to authorities asking they show mercy for the 'honest', 'compassionate' and 'dependable' para 'widely regarded as a fantastic soldier'. But despite Georgians fighting side by side with Britain in Iraq and Afghanistan, where it committed the most troops per capita of any nation, he remains incarcerated. Sgt Matthew Desmond received the distinguished Meritorious Service Medal in the late Queen's 90th Birthday Honours Sgt Desmond's heroics in Afghanistan were reported by the Daily Mail at the time and eternalised in Desperate Glory, an unflinching account of his battalion's 2008 tour of the 'Mouth of Hell' in Helmand where they suffered the highest kill ratio since World War II. He served in 2PARA from 1995 until retiring in 2018 and had biked across 25 countries before attempting to enter Georgia on April 23 as an admirer of the ancient Christian nation. Ms Rough appealed for help on a Georgian Facebook page three days later saying 'I am desperate' as 'the British embassy can't locate him'. Jaba Kochlamazashvili, representing Sgt Desmond, said the family was left in a 'complete information vacuum' until his team became involved. 'My client served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is decorated with multiple awards,' he told the Mail. 'He sustained the spinal injuries that still affect him while serving in Afghanistan during a parachute jump. 'Our position is that circumstances clearly demonstrate that a person had no criminal intent whatsoever, those circumstances should be taken into account.' Sgt Desmond was found with 0.0224 grams of buprenorphine, 0.75 grams of codeine, and 5.84g of Pregabalin, which is classified as a psychotropic substance. Lawyers obtained the necessary paperwork to prove the drugs were for private medical use in May but he remains in custody with a crunch hearing expected this week. Desmond (third from left) served in 2PARA from 1995 until retiring in 2018, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan Prosecutors appear to accept these were purely for personal medication, but lawyers say he must plead guilty and will likely pay a fine of up to £30,000 or face eight to 12 years in prison. 'The conditions are extremely difficult,' Mr Kochlamazashvili said, but added that he is 'mentally very resilient'. 'Matthew suffers from constant, unbearable pain. He struggles to walk, lie down or even sit comfortably. They simply do not have the medication prescribed by his doctor.' On his 2008 tour of Helmand, 2Para's base was attacked 36 times amid 90 battles and skirmishes with elderly suicide bombers and children luring them into repeated ambushes. But the battalion fought back so ferociously - killing over 300 Taliban - that the enemy dubbed the area the 'Mouth of Hell' as a nod to the paras' ferocious defence. Desperate Glory by journalist Sam Kiley details how Sgt Desmond sprinted fearlessly across open ground firing from his hip to reach a fallen comrade and haul his body out of the kill zone during an ambush in 2008. He then volunteered to join a dawn assault with a separate platoon where he drew his Sig Sauer 9mm pistol and shot a Taliban commander at close range as they reached for their holster. 'That's as close as I ever want to get to a f***king pistol duel,' he remarked coolly after killing him. Returning back to Britain, Sgt Desmond told the Mail in November 2008 fighting the Taliban had been like 'trying to kill ghosts', adding: 'They would just keep coming.' Describing that first ambush, he said: 'We were hit by a wall of fire. It was the best-initiated ambush I have seen in 13 years of being in the army. They were brilliant that day.' Sgt Desmond became one of the first All Arms Advance EOD Operators and deployed again to Afghanistan to disarm Improvised Explosive Devices. He has been awarded two General Service Medals, the NATO medal for services in Kosovo, the Operational Service Medal Afghanistan as well as the Iraq Medal. The veteran was also handed the Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals, the Accumulated Service Medal, Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and Meritorious Service Medal. The last medal requires at least 20 years of 'good, faithful, valuable and meritorious service'. Gldani Prison was listed as one of the worst prisons in the world after a video leaked in 2012 showing guards torturing, beating and sexually assaulting prisoners. However a report last year found it had improved and overcrowding was no longer an issue and there were no longer allegations of mistreatment or inter-prisoner violence.