Protesters demanding ex-pres. Saakashvili]s release on medical grounds to rally at gov’t office, Ivanishvili’s house

Demonstrators who will demand the release of imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili on medical grounds will rally at the administration building of the government of Georgia in central Tbilisi and the house of the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili on Wednesday, Levan Khabeishvili, a member of the United National Movement opposition party said on Tuesday. 

Khabeishvili, who is running for the party chairmanship, said “oligarch” Ivanishvili was a “major obstacle” for Georgia’s European integration, once again labeling him as a “shadow ruler” of the country.

He stressed Russia would be defeated in its ongoing war against Ukraine, while Ivanishvili and “his government” would be removed from power this year. 

The rally in Tbilisi, and all major cities of Georgia, as well as at Georgian embassies abroad will begin at 18:00. 

Saakashvili, a citizen of Ukraine, was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 after eight years in self-imposed political exile. 

His entourage claims Saakashvili is in “urgent need” of “proper treatment” abroad, while the government is accusing him of “self-harming to escape justice”.