Two protesters demanding ex-president Saakashvili’s release detained at rally
Saakashvili served as the country’s third president from 2004 to 2013 and was found guilty of abuse of power in two cases in absentia in 2018. Photo: screenshot from RFE/RL video.
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Police have arrested two protesters at a rally in support of jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili in front of the government administration building earlier today.
Demonstrators demanding the release of Saakashvili attempted to draw graffiti reading 'Freedom to Misha' in front of the building, which resulted in a clash between protesters and officers.
Nika Narsia and Otar Gurgenidze have been arrested for attempting to deface property at the protest rally, local media outlet IPN reports.
Saakashvili was arrested on October 1 and, since then, several rallies have been held in support of the former president.
Local media outlet Netgazeti reported that approximately 40,000 individuals protested the former president’s arrest at Freedom Square in Tbilisi. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
The largest opposition party, United National Movement (UNM), founded by Saakashvili, has announced ‘large-scale rallies’ in all major cities of Georgia following the demonstration on October 14, when thousands of people gathered in central Tbilisi demanding Saakashvili’s release.
Mikheil Saakashvili, who is a citizen of Ukraine and chairs the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council, is currently on a hunger strike and considers himself a political prisoner.
Saakashvili served as the country’s third president from 2004 to 2013 and was found guilty of abuse of power in two cases in absentia in 2018, and has been sentenced to six years of imprisonment.