Former President of Georgia and citizen of Ukraine Mikheil Saakashvili has appealed to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, requesting to be granted civil prisoner status. He made this appeal public on social media on November 13.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Justification for Saakashvili’s Appeal
In his appeal, Saakashvili noted that he was recently transferred from a prison hospital, where he was receiving treatment after severe poisoning, back to prison. According to the politician, the poisoning was recorded in March 2022, following the onset of large-scale hostilities in Ukraine. The fact of the poisoning, Saakashvili claims, has been confirmed by American and German laboratories.
“My poisoning in March 2022 occurred shortly after the start of the full-scale war. The fact of the poisoning was established by American and German laboratories. Putin has demanded retribution against me from the very beginning, and Medvedev and Lavrov have repeatedly boasted about my imprisonment.”
In his appeal, the politician emphasized that the Georgian regime, which he believes has a pro-Russian orientation, is unlawfully holding him in custody. Saakashvili is asking Zelensky to include him in the list of civil prisoners of this war, which should entail appropriate legal consequences.
Health Status and Situation in Georgia
On November 12, the Georgian authorities returned Saakashvili to prison in the city of Rustavi after a long stay in the hospital, where he had been receiving treatment since May 2022. The Georgian penitentiary service reported that the politician continues to serve his sentence “in the usual manner.”
Saakashvili was convicted on several criminal charges and is to serve a term until April 2034. Additionally, on November 6, the Georgian prosecution opened a new criminal case against him.
Support for the former president is expressed by human rights organizations as well as Western politicians. Saakashvili’s supporters consider his persecution to be politically motivated and are calling for his release.