Lincoln Mitchell: “The Saakashvili Criminal Charges Conundrum”

The decision by the Georgian prosecutor to press charges against former president Mikheil Saakashvili was not unexpected, but it nonetheless has the potential to change Georgia’s relationship with the west, says blogger Lincoln Mitchell.

In an opinion piece published on August 11, Mitchell, who was the Chief of Party for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Georgia from 2002-2004, explored the various options facing the Georgian Dream government as to how they could deal with Saakashvili, and if any action was taken, how would the Georgian population react and would this affect Georgia’s relationship with its western partners.

Few in the GD government had any doubts that there was enough evidence against Saakashvili to indict and even convict him, but most were aware of the complicated politics around charging the former President with criminal activities,” Mitchell wrote.

 Read his full analysis here: http://lincolnmitchell.com