Saakashvili: don’t expect me to be pardoned
“Don’t expect me to get pardoned… Only the Georgian people can release me [from prison]. They will free themselves and free me,” Saakashvili wrote. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who is serving a prison term in Rustavi Prison No.12, has said that ‘only the Georgian people’ can release him from prison.
Saakashvili, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after returning from eight years in political exile, considers himself a ‘political prisoner’ and has reportedly been on a hunger strike for 35 days.
In response to President Zurabishvili’s recent statement that she will ‘never’ pardon the ex-president, Saakashvili claims in his latest letter that he does not expect to be pardoned by the current government, as they ‘receive directions directly from Moscow’.
Don’t expect me to get pardoned… Only the Georgian people can release me [from prison]. They will free themselves and free me, Saakashvili wrote.
The former president praised the ongoing wave of anti-government rallies in Georgia, saying that the current government has ‘run out of strength’.
He further approved of the opposition politician Elene Khoshtaria’s decision to go on a hunger strike in demand of Saakashvili’s transfer to a civil clinic rather than a prison hospital.
Saakashvili, who is currently a citizen of Ukraine, was convicted by Georgian court in absentia in 2018 on two counts of abuse of power and was sentenced to six years in prison.
The former president is now facing five additional charges, including illegal seizure of property, embezzlement, illegal rally dispersal, and illegal border crossing.
Several opposition parties and members have criticized Georgian president Salome Zurabishvili for a recent statement that she will never pardon ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.Zurabishvili said yesterday that Saakashvili, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after eight years in political exile, ‘is neither a political prisoner, nor a victim of injustice,’ noting that the former president returned to Georgia to incite unrest.
Droa opposition party leader, Elene Khoshtaria, has gone on hunger strike in the parliament building of Georgia, demanding the transfer of former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvil, to a civil clinic for treatment.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has reiterated her previous claims that she will not pardon arrested ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. She said Saakashvili, who was arrested a day before the October 2 municipal elections in Tbilisi ‘does not satisfy any criteria of a political prisoner or of a victim of innocence’.
Georgian opposition leaders have gathered with their supporters in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi to protest the results of the October 30 run-off municipal elections. The opposition, claiming that the election results were fabricated, announced rallies in the cities of Batumi, Kutaisi, and Zugdidi, in addition to the massive demonstration in Tbilisi scheduled for November 7.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Kakha Kuchava visited Droa opposition party leader Elene Khoshtaria, who has been on a hunger strike in the parliament building for three days, demanding former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s transfer to a civil clinic rather than a prison hospital. Saakashvili, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after returning from eight years in political exile, considers himself a ‘political prisoner’ and has reportedly been on a hunger strike for 36 days.
Georgia's State Security Service has claimed it has identified plans for "assassination" of an opposition figure and blocking of government institutions by organisers of large rallies expected on Saturday in support of the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili.
Droa opposition party leader, Elene Khoshtaria, who has been on hunger strike for six days while demanding the transfer of former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili to a civil clinic, says that she is ‘strongly against’ Saakashvili returning to power.
Leader of the Droa opposition party Elene Khoshtaria fainted earlier today in parliament, likely due to the hunger strike she announced six days ago demanding former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s transfer from prison to a private hospital. Paramedics recommended hospitalisation for Khoshtaria, which she rejected.
Zurab Chkhaidze, a clinical director at Vivamedi clinic in Tbilisi where the convicted former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has been undergoing treatment since May, on Thursday dismissed claims by some opposition politicians over the “extremely poor condition” of his health as “not true”.
Georgian justice minister Rati Bregadze on Thursday said the country’s authorities had “legal grounds” to reject Ukraine's potential motion requesting a transfer of Georgia’s convicted former president Mikheil Saakashvili to the country.