Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Georgia, Thursday, October 14, to demand the release of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, imprisoned since the beginning of October and on hunger strike.
President of Georgia between 2004 and 2013, Mr Saakashvili, 53, was arrested on 1er October on his return from an eight-year exile to serve a six-year prison sentence for ” abuse of power “. His imprisonment is part of the political crisis that has shaken Georgia since the last legislative elections in October 2020, narrowly won by the ruling party, Georgian Dream, founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, M’s great rival. Saakashvili.
Since then, the formation of the latter, the United National Movement (MNU), obtained 30.6% of the vote in the municipal elections of October 3, against 46.7% for Georgian Dream. The opposition parties, however, gathered 53% of the vote and denounced massive fraud. In the main cities, including the capital, Tbilisi, second rounds will take place on October 30 between candidates of power and those of the MNU.
Nearly 50,000 people in Tbilisi, according to one estimate
“Free Saakashvili! “, “No to political persecution! “, could we read on the banners brandished by the demonstrators in Tbilisi, who were also provided with portraits of the former head of state. According to an estimate by a correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP), at least 50,000 people had gathered on the Place de la Liberté, in the center of the city. Throughout the day, vehicles forming convoys brought protesters to Tbilisi who gathered at the call of Mr. Saakashvili and his supporters, according to images broadcast by television channels.
In a message read to protesters by his lawyer, Saakashvili called for making his country “A beacon of democracy” and to “Save Georgia through national unity and reconciliation”. The former president rejects this condemnation which he considers political and says he has started a hunger strike to protest against his imprisonment. Doctors have expressed concern about his state of health.
As a sign of concern over Mr. Saakashvili’s arrest, the United States last week called on Tbilisi to ensure that the opponent “Benefit[ait] fair treatment, in accordance with Georgian law and Georgia’s international human rights commitments ”. Mr Saakashvili has been stripped of his Georgian nationality and has had a Ukrainian passport since 2016. Before returning to his native country, he lived for several years in Ukraine, where he was head of the executive committee of the National Reform Council.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week called for Saakashvili to return to Ukraine, but the Georgian government has so far been firm on this issue. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said last week: “No one on earth is able to convince us to free Saakashvili”, who go “Serve all your sentence”.