Jailed foe of leader calls for protests

KIEV, Ukraine — From his jail cell in Ukraine’s capital, opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili is calling on supporters to rally for the impeachment of the president and has declared a hunger strike.

Saakashvili, the former governor of the Odessa region who was stripped of his citizenship this summer, was arrested Friday night. He hasn’t been formally charged, but prosecutors say he colluded with Ukrainian businessmen tied to Russia to topple President Petro Poroshenko.

Saakashvili rejects the allegations, pointing to his long record of opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Saakashvili must be brought to court for arraignment within 72 hours of arrest. A spokesman for the prosecutor-general’s office, Andrei Lysenko, said Saturday that officials will likely ask for him to be held under house arrest after his court appearance.

He also faces the possibility of being sent back to his native Georgia, where he faces charges of abuse of office from his years as president in 20042013.

Saakashvili was the key figure of the 2003 Rose Revolution protests that forced Eduard Shevardnadze to resign the presidency. Saakashvili was elected the next year to replace him. During his tenure, he earned wide admiration for anti-corruption efforts, including revamping the police force, but critics said the headstrong leader showed a growing authoritarian streak.

He left Georgia in 2013, and in 2015 was named by Poroshenko to be Odessa governor.