The Georgian opposition on Wednesday again demanded the release of former President Mikhail Saakashvili – detained since 2021 on charges of abuse of power – and urged his supporters to make their voices heard on the «back of the neck» of the government.
«There will be surprises, the Government must feel the breath of the people on the back of its neck,» said the leader of the United National Movement, Levan Khabeishvili, thus encouraging the opposition to take to the streets to demand Saakashvili’s release, as the Ukrainian authorities have done because of his status as a Ukrainian citizen.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski has criticized Georgia for continuing to hold Saakashvili — a Ukrainian citizen — in prison despite his health and has accused the government of «killing him live». However, this week, the Caucasus country’s judiciary rejected the latest claims in this regard.
This decision has provoked that an important group of supporters of the ex-president has concentrated at the doors of the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice in Tbilisi, the capital, demanding his release and calling the head of this portfolio, Rati Bregadze, «murderer».
The President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, also referred to the sentence and ruled out any pardon since the accused had not shown repentance, much less acknowledged his crimes.
Saakashvili, accused of embezzlement and abuse of power during his term in office, was arrested in October 2021 after eight years outside the country. Since then, he has announced several hunger strikes and his family has demanded that he be transferred to a clinic for treatment.
As a result, his health condition has been worsening and he has suffered a drastic weight loss, as can be seen in the videos that his close circle has been leaking to the media. In them he accuses the government of having tortured him and tried to poison him.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
