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.
The rallies have also been held in several cities around the world demanding Saakashvili’s release and transfer abroad for medical treatment. Levan Khabeishvili, a candidate for the UNM party’s chairmanship, also has held a parallel solidarity rally with his supporters in Tbilisi.
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 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 power, while three other cases are pending.