For Georgia opposition party calls for ex-Pres. Saakashvili’s transfer to prison

The For Georgia opposition party on Thursday called on the country's Government to transfer Mikheil Saakashvili, the imprisoned former President, from the civilian clinic in Tbilisi where he has been receiving treatment since May 2022 back to prison detention "at least" after the New Year’s Eve holidays.

During a press briefing, Mikheil Daushvili, an MP from the party, accused the current authorities of attempting to "allow" Saakashvili, who currently holds Ukrainian citizenship, to "interfere" in domestic politics, and of "saving and reunifying" the United National Movement, the largest opposition faction founded by the former official. 

Daushvili said the alleged move was designed to "use" the party for securing victory in next year's parliamentary elections for the ruling party by "scaring the public” with the prospect of UNM’s return to office.

The MP, who represents the party founded by Giorgi Gakharia, the former Georgian Dream Prime Minister, urged the Government to “halt the systematic violation" of the Criminal Procedure Code and the "pre-election spectacle" by ensuring Saakashvili's return to prison.

Reacting to the calls, opposition MPs Roman Gotsiridze and Iago Khvichia disapproved of the call, with the former accusing For Georgia of pursuing a "very low-level" election campaign and claiming the statement was "harmful".

Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary-General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said decisions on prisoner transfers were made by state agencies and not parties, and asserted Saakashvili had "never faced health issues, he was actually on a diet", in reference to claims of his ill-treatment in detention.

He dismissed the health claims as "usual speculation" and alleged the former President had “campaigned against the country with [invented claims on his] health problems”.

Vice Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze suggested that "less time should be devoted" to Saakashvili and statements related to him, while Irakli Kadagishvili, a fellow GD MP, alleged opposition parties would attempt to distance themselves from the "discredited" UNM and its founder ahead of the elections to "score political points".

Saakashvili was arrested on his clandestine return from Ukraine to Georgia in 2021, ahead of municipal elections in the country. He is currently serving a six-year term for abuse of power while in office in two separate cases, with three other cases involving him still pending.

The former official has activated political statements after a European Court of Human Rights ruling in May, which rejected his request for the institution to order the Georgian Government to ensure his transfer abroad, or to another clinic inside the country, on health grounds.