Ukrainian public defender meeting Saakashvili in Rustavi prison

Ukrainian public defender Lyudmila Denisova is already in Georgia and is now holding a meeting with arrested former president Mikheil Saakashvili in Rustavi Prison No.12. 

Denisova says that she will initially listen to Saakashvili, ‘what he needs,’ and only after decides how to act. 

“I am eager to receive information on Saakashvili’s health, who has been on hunger strike for 27 days,” Denisova stated. 

Saakashvili, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1, ahead of Georgia’s municipal elections, is a citizen of Ukraine and currently chairs the Ukrainian National Reforms Council. 

He returned to Georgia after eight years in political exile to change the Georgian Dream government. 

Saakashvili was convicted in Georgia in absentia back in 2018 for abuse of authority and was sentenced to six years in prison. 

He has also been charged with four other offences, including the illegal crossing of the border from Ukraine to Georgia. 

The Ukrainian government says they will use all measures to return Saakashvili back to Ukraine.