Former president deported to Poland

Mikheil Saakashvili, the former Georgian president-turned opposition leader in Ukraine, was deported to Poland, Ukrainian officials have confirmed.

Allies of Saakashvili said he was detained by armed men wearing masks at a Kiev restaurant. Oleh Slobodyan, a spokesman for the Ukrainian border guards, said on Facebook that the agency’s personnel had to use force to counter Saakashvili’s supporters at the airport. Slobodyan cited earlier decisions by Ukrainian courts, which ruled that Saakashvili was staying in the country illegally, and said he was deported to Poland.

Poland’s border guards said in a communique on the agency’s web site that Saakashvili was admitted to Polish territory on a request from Ukrainian immigration authorities. He was admitted to Poland as the spouse of a European Union citizen. Saakashvili’s wife is Dutch. Saakashvili has led repeated protests against Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko.