Ex-Pres Saakashvili supporters ignore facts, defend ‘their representative’, in Georgia, Mdinaradze

Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister Mamuka Mdinaradze has accused foreign politicians calling for the release of former president Mikheil Saakashvili of ignoring the facts surrounding his convictions and detention.

Speaking to journalists on Monday in response to a Polish member of the European Parliament’s appeal for Saakashvili’s release, Mdinaradze said those defending the former president were motivated by political interests rather than legal arguments.

“If you know even slightly what Saakashvili is accused of and still say he is illegally detained, it means factual circumstances are secondary for you,” Mdinaradze said. “You are simply defending your representative in Georgia based on your own interests.”

He argued that Saakashvili had never represented Georgia’s interests and instead acted on behalf of what he described as “external forces”. According to Mdinaradze, foreign actors continue to support the former president because he had previously advanced their agenda in Georgia.

The vice prime minister also said it was “natural” for countries to defend individuals they viewed as aligned with their interests abroad.

Saakashvili, who served as Georgia’s president between 2004 and 2013, is currently serving prison sentences linked to multiple criminal convictions. He and his supporters maintain that the charges are politically motivated.