President says “principal question” on pardoning Saakashvili will be “answered in time”
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday said the “principal question” on whether she would pardon the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvi would be “answered in time”. Photo: Presidential Press Office
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Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday said the “principal question” on whether she would pardon the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvi would be “answered in time”.
In a briefing she called in the evening, following a rally held outside her residence where protesters called on her not to pardon Saakashvili, Zourabichvili claimed both the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition United National Movement were “interested” in the former President’s return to the domestic political discourse, lamenting that there was “no other topic” left for the country’s political scene.
In other comments, Zourabichvili also criticised the recent promotions of Levan Murusidze and Mikheil Chinchaladze, two judges involved in some of the controversial decisions made by the judiciary during the previous United National Movement Government.
I am only interested in this country [and] its European future, which everyone is fighting against. No one can see that the public wants it [European future] and our public will receive it no matter what”, the President said in the briefing, adding “we're on this path [of European integration]” irrespective of other factors.
Zourabichvili told the BBC last month she had “no power” to pardon Saakashvili as cases against the latter were still pending and the domestic legislation prevented pardons from being issued before all outstanding court cases against individuals were completed.
She also said she would not pardon the former President as she did not wish to “become an instrument for more polarisation” on the domestic political scene, and also referenced the “autocratic” former Government of Saakashvili as her motivation against issuing a pardon.
The controversy around Saakashvili’s ongoing detention stems from claims by his legal team and a part of the domestic opposition on the former President requiring treatment abroad. A trial hearing on whether to grant the former official a release or postponement of the rest of his sentence on medical grounds is ongoing.
Saakashvili has been receiving treatment at the Vivamedi clinic since May 12, after he was moved from the Gori Military Hospital - where he was transferred in late November 2021 from the hospital of the Gldani No.18 prison. The latter, in turn, served as his detention location after his move from the Rustavi No.12 prison, the initial detention venue, in early November last year.
The third President of Georgia, currently a citizen of Ukraine, was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 on his clandestine return to Georgia ahead of municipal elections. He has been serving a six-year term for abuse of power in two separate cases stemming back to his time in office, while three other cases are pending.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said pardoning the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili would be a “gravest” move for President Salome Zourabichvili and her career.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said it was “categorically unacceptable” to draw parallels between cases involving the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili and prospects of Georgia joining the European Union.
People's Power, a public movement established by the former ruling Georgian Dream party MPs who exited the team in June, on Friday criticised the McCain Institute, a Washington-based think tank, for introducing a “fake” claim in its statement about the latest developments around the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday said there were “no question marks” regarding the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili in the capitals of Georgia’s partner countries.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Wednesday met representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps in the country to provide them with “detailed information” about developments around the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, the Ministry said.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said President Salome Zourabichvili would need to consider her voters’ 2018 rejection of the opposition United National Movement party in deciding whether she would pardon the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday suspended the right of MPs to visit the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili in detention without permission.
The opposition United National Movement party on Tuesday said it was “regretful” that “some individuals” among its membership were using the topic of an upcoming rally for supporting the imprisoned former President Saakashvili to “cause a split”.
The leaders of the United National Movement party and other opposition parties, as well as Georgian citizens, are currently gathered at a solidarity rally for the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili at the Peace Bridge in Georgia's capital Tbilisi and other major cities across the country.
Levan Ioseliani, a member of the Citizens opposition party and the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Wednesday said ensuring release of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili was a goal of the opposition United National Movement party, while other domestic opposition parties were “not motivated by such goals”.
Irakli Zarkua, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday responded to an article by Michael McFaul, the former United States Ambassador to Russia, on the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili by saying mentioning the latter in connection to democratic and human rights concerns was “absurd”.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Saturday said it was doubtful that President Salome Zourabichvili would pardon the currently imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Iago Khvichia, an MP for the Girchi opposition party, on Monday said the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s call for Bill Browder, the author of the Magnitsky List that named Russian officials responsible for the 2009 death of tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in detention for subsequent Western sanctions, to compile a similar list for his alleged mistreatment in detention was “not credible” and rejected claims of Saakashvili’s torture by Georgian authorities.