Ex-President Saakashvili releases prison letter: ‘since people haven’t yet opened door for me, I invite you inside’

Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday released a letter from Rustavi No.12 penitentiary, depicting prison conditions, daily routines and what he describes as the “political nature” of his imprisonment.

In the post shared on social media, Saakashvili writes that since “the Georgian people have not yet found time to open the prison door” for him, he decided to “open it himself” and invite the public inside, metaphorically, through his account of life in detention.

Saakashvili describes overcrowded conditions, constant movement in corridors and prison staff split, as he puts it, between “cold-eyed” and “sympathetic-eyed” guards. He notes that those imprisoned include multiple political figures who refused to enter ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Parliament.

He outlines daily routines: meetings with lawyers, improvised cooking with unsafe electric pans and participation in a small-scale basketball “tournament” held in a fenced outdoor area. Saakashvili humorously claims he “regularly defeats” an inmate he jokingly refers to as “Zelenskyy’s reform chair,” adding that prison officials refuse to award him a medal.

The former President also recounts health and safety concerns, including malfunctioning cooking appliances, poor food service and lingering effects from what he alleges was poisoning years ago. He notes that opposition TV channels play constantly in guard rooms and compares some experiences to scenes from prison movies.

Saakashvili concludes by arguing that many inmates, whom he calls “dignified people,” should be serving the country rather than being held behind bars. He writes that other prisoners also deserve more humane treatment, ending the letter with the phrase: “Glory to freedom”.

Saakashvili, serving a sentence on abuse-of-power charges he denies, has repeatedly claimed his imprisonment is politically motivated. The government rejects these accusations.