Saakashvili says gov’t “fully lustrated” itself by his potential murder in custody – lawyer

Imprisoned former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili on Monday said the current Georgian Dream authorities had “fully lustrated” itself by the recent claims of the popular force – a movement founded by former members of the ruling Georgian Dream party – that Saakashvili’s foreign “patrons” had plans to kill him in detention.  

Saakashvili’s lawyer Valeri Gelbakhiani said his client “laughed” after hearing the claims and said the events around him were developing “in line with Russian president Vladimir Putin’s plans”, with the Georgian Government, “and neither the US nor the EU”, facilitating the plan “to weaken him to death” while in custody. 

The popular force claimed Saakashvili was putting pressure on his “patrons” to escape justice by blackmailing them to uncover the details of the Russia-Georgia 2008 conflict and his return to Georgia in 2021 after eight years in political exile. 

They stressed if the “patrons” were unable to ensure Saakashvili’s release, they were expected to assassinate him in prison, “killing two birds with one stone” – getting read of Saakashvili as a “golden witness” and sparking unrest in the country through putting the blame on the current Georgian government for his death. 

The popular force has urged the authorities to be “extremely cautious” to prevent any of the developments, and“dragging the country” into the Russia-Ukraine war by the “patrons”.