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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is demanding that the pro-Western former President of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, who is in prison for abuse of office, which he denies, be sent to Ukraine for urgent medical treatment.
Zelenskyy claimed without evidence that Moscow through the government of Georgia – where Saakashvili was president until 2013 – “killed” the former leader after a video surfaced this week of him looking emaciated. Moscow has not commented on the latest allegations, but has previously dismissed any connection with Saakashvili as “a theater of the absurd.”
Saakashvili said in an April Politico editorial that he is now “dying” and “has been systematically tortured, both physically and psychologically, and there is currently evidence of heavy metal poisoning in my body.” I now suffer from a confusing array of over He called himself a political prisoner and secretly blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for his “current predicament” without giving details.
It is unclear why Zelenskyy, who has long sought the rendition of Saakashvili – a Ukrainian citizen – is now making his allegations. Tbilisi said Saakashvili was receiving medical care and was not a political prisoner.
Georgia, a former Soviet state, has been walking a fine line since Russia invaded Ukraine. The ruling Georgian Dream party has close ties with Moscow and has refused to impose economic sanctions on the Kremlin. But the population protested out of solidarity with Ukraine and against what many describe as the growing authoritarianism in their country. Here’s what you should know.
Who is Mikheil Saakashvili?
Saakashvili, 55, was President of Georgia from 2004 to 2013 came to power through the rose revolution, a pro-democracy movement that ousted the President. Saakashvili was elected to office in 2004 with 96 percent of the vote. Saakashvili was educated in the United States and gained influence in Washington and the West during his tenure. He wanted the former Soviet state to join the European Union and NATO.
In the office, he and Putin had widely reported personal animosity after a brief, disastrous war with Russia in 2008 that saw Tbilisi lose control of its South Ossetia region. Few other countries have given legal recognition to Russia’s takeover of power.
In 2013, after two terms in office, Saakashvili moved abroad into self-imposed exile in the United States and Europe, where he was dogged by corruption allegations and arrest warrants. In 2015, he took Ukrainian citizenship and renounced his citizenship in Georgia, which did not allow dual citizenship at the time. He briefly served as governor of the southern Odessa region, at a time when many Georgians were sympathetic to pro-democracy movements in Ukraine, before resigning.
In 2017, as part of a political feud, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stripped him of his citizenship and deported him to Poland. Zelensky, Poroshenko’s successor, restored them in 2019 and appointed him to head an advisory council to counter oligarch power in Ukraine, the Washington Post previously reported.
Why is Saakashvili in prison?
Saakashvili was sentenced in absentia in 2018 to six years in prison for abuse of power during his tenure. He denies the allegations, which he believes are politically motivated. He was arrested afterwards He returned to Georgia to support the October 2021 local elections, ending his eight-year exile. According to Human Rights Watch, the trial took place outside of international legal norms.
In February, the European Parliament passed Resolution 577-33, calling on Tbilisi to release Saakashvili, noting that his “health continued to deteriorate” and that he had “lost a significant amount of weight”. It added that the “continued failure to improve the situation of Saakashvili” dealt a “blow” to Georgia’s international reputation and “would harm its prospects of becoming a candidate for the European Union”.
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What happened to Saakashvili in prison?
The resolution said the former president went on hunger strikes in prison, but said some of his medical symptoms were “consistent with heavy metal poisoning while in custody, which contributed to his rapidly deteriorating health.”
Saakashvili attended a court appearance video conference On Monday, he lifted his shirt to reveal a scrawny torso to the camera.
Despite his changed appearance, he felt “mentally fit” and a opinion At His official social media accounts later said he wanted to live “to watch and be a part of the eventual collapse of the Russian Empire.”
In February, in a joint statement, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused the Georgian government of “denying the former president adequate medical care, thereby putting his life in grave danger”. They said two independent medical teams concluded that Saakashvili “developed a number of life-threatening health problems during his detention” and lost more than 50 kilograms while in prison.
What did Zelenskyi say about Saakashvili?
After the court video, Zelenskyy demanded that Saakashvili be immediately transferred to Kiev. In an evening public address on Monday, he blamed the Kremlin for what he called the “demonstrative execution” of Saakashvili.
“The world has once again seen how the Kremlin – unfortunately at the hands of the current Georgian government – kills the Ukrainian citizen Mykhailo Saakashvili,” Zelenskyi said in a different spelling. “Life is of the highest value and we cannot allow Mykhailo to simply be killed.”
Zelenskyy called on European governments to “rescue this man” and called on Tbilisi to transfer him to Kiev for “necessary treatment and care”.
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Zelenskyi also said he instructed Ukraine’s foreign minister to invite the Georgian ambassador to Ukraine on Tuesday “to express our protest.” He would also give him 48 hours to leave Ukraine to hold “consultation with its capital” on the issue.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba posted on Telegram that the appointed Georgian ambassador was facing a “tough talk” as he also called for Saakashvili’s return.
Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul called for Saakashvili’s release on health grounds and urged the Biden government to put more pressure on Tbilisi.
The foreign ministries of Georgia and Russia did not immediately respond to Post’s inquiries. The Georgian authorities have previously told human rights organizations that Saakashvili’s health has deteriorated as a result of “self-harm” caused by several hunger strikes and that he is receiving adequate medical care.
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Inna Lazareva contributed to this report.
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