Ruling party head: mentioning Saakashvili as “political prisoner” shows European Parliament’s “corruption problems”

Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said comments at the European Parliament that mentioned the imprisoned former  President Mikheil Saakashvili as a “political prisoner” demonstrated “corruption problems” at the body.

Kobakhidze said statements of the EP on Saakashvili, who is serving a six-year term while undergoing medical treatment at a Tbilisi clinic, were “based on falsehood”. 

“Mikheil Saakashvili is a prisoner, he is serving his sentence for the most serious crimes. The rule of law is what we must uphold to the end. We should enter the European Union only with dignity. If we give up dignity, we will have neither the European Union nor the state”, Kobakhidze said. 

Mentioning Saakashvili among political prisoners speaks of the corruption problems that are, unfortunately, present in the European Parliament. I hope that the European Parliament will overcome such problems in the near future”, the GD official added.

The issue of Saakashvili, whose legal team and family, as well as a part of the domestic Georgian opposition, have claimed a need to transfer the former official abroad for treatment, will be discussed in the European Parliament on Tuesday.

A Ukrainian citizen, Saakashvili held a public post in the country before being arrested on his return to Georgia in October 2021. He is serving the term for a case of abuse of power he had been convicted on in absentia. Three other cases against him are pending.