Ex-prs. Margvelashvili: if still in office, I’d postpone Saakashvili’s sentence

Former Georgian president Giorgi Margvelashvili on Thursday said if still in office, he would postpone the sentence for imprisoned third president Mikheil Saakashvili on medical grounds.  

 

“I have drafted a letter that was signed by officials and politicians of virtually all the previous governments of Georgia. The message was that there is no need to go into legal issues and discuss which verdict should be appealed and which should not. 

“There is such a practice that I have used many times, this is the postponement of the serving of the sentence. This happens when there are special circumstances and the person’s detention is actually equivalent to torture”, Margvelashvili said. 

He noted Saakashvili’s situation was “exactly like this” and that leaving him in prison meant “continuing his torture”.  

 

“Furthermore, we are a society that assassinated its first president, leaving that society divided for decades. If we do it again, it will be a disaster not only in terms of changing the attitude of other countries towards us, but also a disaster in self-esteem,” Margvelashvili said. 

A trial hearing on granting Saakashvili’s release on medical grounds or the postponement of the rest of his sentence will resume on January 9.