US Ambassador on Saakashvili’s trial: I hope supporters will not interfere with administration of justice
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan also underscored that ‘all defendants have a right to a fair trial, including attending in person if they so desire.’Photo: US Embassy in Georgia/Archive.
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US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan has expressed the hope that former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s supporters ‘will act responsibly’ during his trial, urging that the protest should be peaceful.
The former president’s supporters and opposition leaders have gathered outside Tbilisi City Court building earlier today protesting Saakashvili's trial – however, neither journalists nor opposition activists are allowed into the court’s yard.
We are very glad that Mr. Saakashvili’s condition allows him to attend today. He is stabilised and he is able to attend his hearing,” Ambassador Degnan said.
She also underscored that ‘all defendants have a right to a fair trial, including attending in person if they so desire.’
Ambassador Degnan's Remarks to Media at Amcham Roundtable https://t.co/RBFuBanHjg
— U.S. Embassy Tbilisi (@usingeo) November 29, 2021
The court is reviewing the case of the illegal dispersal of an opposition rally in central Tbilisi on November 7, 2007 in which Saakashvili is charged with the abuse of power.
Saakashvili was denied attendance at three previous trials due to the opposition’s alleged plan to cause unrest and the ex-president's health, as he was on hunger strike for 50 days, which he ended on November 19, the Georgian government explained.
Saakashvili called on his supporters to hold a rally in front of the court building several days ago.
The former president, who is serving a sentence for abuse of power, considers himself a political prisoner and is currently undergoing treatment at Gori military hospital.
Saakashvili served as the country’s third president from 2004 to 2013 and was sentenced to six years imprisonment in two cases in absentia in 2018, along with several other offences, including illegal seizure of property, embezzlement, illegal rally dispersal, and illegal border crossing.
Fifteen opposition activists, including opposition leader Gigi Ugulava, were arrested at a rally near Tbilisi City Court for disobeying police orders earlier today during a trial concerning former president Mikheil Saakashvili. Saakashvili was allowed to attend the hearing in person, which concerns illegal dispersal of an opposition rally back in 2007, for the first time since his arrest in Tbilisi on October 1. Before the hearing took place, Saakashvili said that he distrusts the Georgian court, noting that he ‘would have used the opportunity’ to address the public.
Lawyers of former president Mikheil Saakashvili have called on the government to ensure Saakashvili’s presence at a trial hearing in a case concerning him on Monday despite the opposition’s plans to hold a rally at Tbilisi City Court.
The former president Mikheil Saakashvili has accepted the Georgian government’s offer to be transferred to Gori military hospital and is ready to stop the 50-day hunger strike after the admittance to the clinic, ex-president’s lawyer Nika Gvaramia announces.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly C. Degnan says that she is glad a multidisciplinary team is monitoring former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili in prison, noting that the US is also closely observing his condition.
Head of the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party Nika Melia says protest rallies should be on-going until the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party is overthrown and former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili released.
Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who was brought to Tbilisi City Court earlier today to attend a trial hearing concerning him on a rally dispersal back in 2007, says that he ‘committed no crimes,’ and that ‘it is the shame’ of the country that the ‘creator of the modern Georgian state is imprisoned.’
Opposition leader Gigi Ugulava, who was arrested on November 29 near Tbilisi City Court while protesting the former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s trial, has been released earlier today and fined 3,000 GEL (about $962/€846).
Police have arrested three individuals for violence against police and resisting arrest during an opposition rally near Tbilisi City Court on November 29.
Georgia's former president Mikheil Saakashvili says that ‘national reconciliation,’ referring to making peace between the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and his United National Movement, ‘is the best outcome for everyone.’