Imprisoned Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Demands to Be Sent to Ukraine War

Former president of Georgia and governor of Odessa, Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili demanded this week that Georgian officials release him from police custody and allow him to go to Kyiv, which is currently facing an incessant Russian military assault.

Saakashvili presided over Georgia during the 2008 Russian invasion of the country, in which Russian strongman Vladimir Putin declared Russian proxy entities in two regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, sovereign states and claimed those states called for Russian military attacks on Georgia.

Last week, Putin similarly proclaimed two regions of Georgia, Donetsk and Luhansk, sovereign states and claimed their leaders had requested a Russian military attack on the government of Ukraine. Putin has insisted that the bombardment of several densely populated metropolitan areas in Ukraine is necessary to “de-Nazify” the country, and his officials have referred to President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “neo-Nazi.” Zelensky has refuted the allegations, noting that he is Jewish and descendent from veterans of World War II who fought against the Nazis.

Saakashvili’s long and tumultuous political career resulted in his imprisonment last year. Following his departure from the Georgian presidency, Saakashvili was invited to work in Ukraine by then-President Petro Poroshenko, who granted him the governorship of Odessa and a mandate to fight corruption. In Georgia, meanwhile, a pro-Russia government took power, which tried and convicted Saakashvili in absentia on charges of abuse of power in 2018. Saakashvili enthusiastically rejects the allegations and claims Putin has personally ordered his persecution. Reports circulated in the aftermath of the 2008 war that Putin openly joked of “hanging” Saakashvili.

Saakashvili soured on Poroshenko, accusing him extensively of corruption. Following his election loss to Zelensky in 2019, Saakashvili once again received an official Ukrainian government position. Saakashvili is a Ukrainian citizen.

Saakashvili returned to Georgia last year, prompting his immediate arrest. His attorneys are currently again litigating his case.

In court on Tuesday, Saakashvili demanded that Georgia allow him to return to Kyiv, citing his position as a Zelensky administration official.

“I am the chairman of Ukraine’s Committee for National Reforms. My office is next to the office of the President Zelensky. They’re expecting me there, and I must be there together with my government today,” Saakashvili said, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.

“Be courageous and listen to the presidents of the European countries telling you that you should send Saakashvili to Ukraine. It is better for the matter, it is better for the future reputation of Georgia,” the former president said, referring to himself in the third person. “I’m not asking you to send me to a resort, I demand you send me to the place I possibly may not be able to return from.”

Interfax noted that Saakashvili is currently on a hunger strike, which he began last week, and “collapsed twice during the court hearing.”

Kyiv is currently a war zone. Putin’s “de-Nazification” campaign has led to extensive aerial attacks on the capital city. In response, Zelensky has announced several radical measures, including releasing convicted criminals with military experience to fight in Ukraine’s “hottest” war zones, widespread government distribution of firearms to civilians, and the establishment of a wing of the armed forces specifically for foreign nationals who want to fight Russia.

Saakashvili was not a pacifying presence in Kyiv after his falling out with Poroshenko, who had tasked him to root out corruption in the country, resulting in Saakashvili’s accusing Poroshenko of corruption. Poroshenko stripped Saakashvili of Ukrainian citizenship, leaving him stateless, and deported him in 2017. Saakashvili resurfaced at the end of that year in Poland, barreling through the border into Ukraine with a mob of hundreds of people pushing back Ukraine’s border guards on his behalf.

Police immediately attempted to arrest Saakashvili in Kyiv, resulting in the former Georgian president shouting from the rooftops, urging crowds to defy “corrupt” Poroshenko and defend his right to be in the capital.

“I’m asking Ukrainians to stop my kidnapping. I’m addressing the residents of Kyiv: do not let unlawful chaos happen,” Saakashvili shouted. “Stop the corrupted Poroshenko and his government. Ukraine is completely under threat. These people have completely usurped power.”

Police removed him from a roof and stuck him in a van, but a mob of supporters tore open the van’s doors and dragged him out:

Saakashvili lasted into February 2018 before his supporters could no longer keep police from detaining and deporting him.

The former Georgian president’s fortune turned with the election of Zelensky, who restored his Ukrainian citizenship, opened an investigation into his deportation, and gave him a role in his government. Saakashvili has returned the favor in effusive public statements from prison since the war with Russia escalated – Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014 – comparing Zelensky to Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan. Like Reagan, Zelensky was a professional actor before becoming president.

Truly historic speech by President @ZelenskyyUa to the European Parliament. I thought Ze was new Reagan, in fact he is as bold and brave as Churchill because he is both a visionary and the war commander. I’ve never been so proud to serve as his Reform’s Council Chairman.

— Mikheil Saakashvili (@SaakashviliM) March 1, 2022

Saakashvili decided last year to return to Georgia and fight against the ruling Georgian Dream party there, which is considered friendly with Putin. His return to Georgia resulted in his immediate arrest.

Like Ukraine, Georgia has experienced waves of civil unrest tied to anxieties about Russia’s influence. Thousands took the streets of Tbilisi in November to protest Georgian Dream’s victory in regional elections, claiming the election is rigged. Similar protests against the Russian bombardments occurred this week.

Despite popular support for Ukraine, Georgia has not agreed to support heightened international sanctions on Russia in response to the attacks on Ukraine. Zelensky abruptly withdrew Ukraine’s ambassador from Georgia (and Kyrgyzstan, on similar grounds) on Tuesday in protest, prompting Georgia to accuse him of a “double standard” given that other nations have also refused to endorse economic sanctions on Russia.

 

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