Justice Minister says public “aware” ex-President is “legally” serving sentence

Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Friday said the public was “aware” that the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili was “legally” serving his sentence and his rights were protected in detention.

In his social media message, Bregadze said the United National Movement opposition party, which he alleged “acts against Georgia on false accusations and officially pays money to sanction our country”, should “place no hope in voters” ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26.

The fact that the [ruling] Georgian Dream [party] is the undisputed leader for the parliamentary elections is evidenced not only by [a recent] sociological survey, but also, first of all, by the reality of our opponents. Our opponent is one, and it is the collective United National Movement - that is, the United Bolshevik Movement”, he claimed.

The Minister added Saakashvili had “sought to convince the public that he was allegedly a political prisoner” who was being “tortured, inhumanely treated, and his rights were violated” as part of a “funded international campaign”.