Ex-Pres Saakashvili accuses Government of targeting diplomats, urges wider sanctions

Georgia’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has accused the country’s leadership of hostility toward Western diplomats and called on the opposition to push for broader international sanctions against the government.

Speaking during a hearing at the Tbilisi Court of Appeal in the so-called jackets case, Saakashvili claimed that surveillance of foreign ambassadors should not come as a surprise. He argued that the authorities target those who, in his words, behave “properly” toward Georgia, including European diplomats.

Saakashvili also criticised ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, accusing him of dominating Georgia’s political system and acting against people who follow democratic norms.

The former president called on opposition forces to unite and respond more actively to what he described as government pressure. He urged them to work toward comprehensive international sanctions and to block what he said was any attempt to normalise relations with the current authorities.

Saakashvili added that the situation required both caution and the defence of national dignity.