Crowds call for the release of Georgia’s jailed former president
GEORGIAN authorities yesterday vowed that ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili would spend six years behind bars, as the opposition denounced a “rigged” election and observers warned of a backsliding of democracy in the ex-soviet nation.
The 53-year-old was arrested on his return to Georgia last week after years in exile – the latest dramatic turn for a man who once swept to power on the back of a peaceful uprising, with promises to clear out a corrupt old guard. The former politician said he was “risking everything” to come home amid a long running political crisis between the opposition United National Movement (UNM), which he founded, and the ruling Georgian Dream party.
The arrest threatened to spark a diplomatic crisis between Georgia and Ukraine, where Mr Saakashvili has been working with the government.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, announced he will personally work to get the former leader out of jail. But Irakli Garibashvili, Georgia’s prime minister, said yesterday that any requests for his release would be ignored. Earlier, he warned Mr Saakashvili risked fresh charges if he did not “behave”.
Mr Saakashvili was sentenced in absentia in 2018 for abuse of power and concealing evidence when he was president. He has always said the charges against him were politically motivated and it is understood he has gone on hunger strike in protest at his sentence.
Several hundred supporters gathered outside the jail where he is being held in Rustavi, calling for his release.
Waving flags and chanting his name, the group vowed to stage further mass protests in the coming days.
As president, Mr Saakashvili dragged Georgia out of a post-soviet slump, cracking down on petty corruption and setting up reputable state institutions. He also backed the idea of Georgia joining Nato and the EU.
Opposition parties accused the Georgian Dream of rigging last year’s parliamentary elections and have refused to take up seats in parliament.
Mr Saakashvili announced his homecoming ahead of local elections on Saturday. “You see – I risked everything – my life, freedom, everything, in order to come here,” he said in a video to his fans before he flew in. “I want only one thing from you – go to the polls.”
The Georgian Dream Party won 47 per cent of the vote, compared to 31 per cent for the UNM, according to the country’s Central Election Commission.
International observers said the elections were “marred by widespread and consistent allegations of intimidation, vote-buying and an unlevel playing field”.