Ex-president Saakashvili: My unlawful detention reaches 3 years

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili took to social media to remind the public that his imprisonment, which he calls unlawful, has now reached the three-year mark.

Saakashvili, who has been detained since his return to Georgia, made the statement on the same day the Coalition for Change held its convention near Rustavi Prison.

“The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the most representative inter-parliamentary body in Europe and the United States, has called for an end to my political imprisonment and demanded my release in a resolution passed today,” Saakashvili wrote on Thursday. He also expressed gratitude to the European People’s Party, the largest political group in Europe, which made a similar appeal earlier this week.

Saakashvili thanked the democratic world for its support of both him and the Georgian people. He also praised the energy and large turnout at the Coalition for Change convention, noting its symbolic location near Rustavi Prison, where other opposition figures like Nika Gvaramia and Nika Melia were previously unlawfully detained.

“The coalition’s convention rightly highlighted the unlawful detention of Gvaramia and Melia. It would have been appreciated if my own ongoing imprisonment had been mentioned as well, especially since Gvaramia, my former lawyer, and Melia, who went on a hunger strike demanding my release, have been strong advocates for my freedom,” Saakashvili said.

He urged all anti-oligarchic political forces to prepare for the upcoming elections on October 26, emphasizing the need to mobilize voters and protect what he described as their inevitable victory. Saakashvili reiterated his support for the success of all anti-oligarchic forces and the importance of future coalition collaboration.

“Until then, we must all work together to mobilize voters and prepare to defend our inevitable victory,” Saakashvili concluded.