Zelensky accuses Russia of assassinating former Georgia president Saakashvili
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday accused Russia of using the Georgian government to assassinate former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, who sought to distance his country from Moscow’s influence and later became a citizen of Ukraine.
Saakashvili is serving a six-year prison sentence in Georgia on charges of abuse of power he says are politically motivated. He looked frail and skeletal during a remote court hearing broadcast on Georgian television Monday, lifting his shirt to reveal his emaciated torso. According to Georgian news reportshe demanded the “opportunity to participate openly in political processes” and called on the Georgian people to “stand up” to support him.
The action renewed the grave concern of his supporters, human rights groups And European leaders about his health and treatment in prison.
“Today, the world once again witnessed the Kremlin – sadly at the hands of the current Georgian government – assassinate Ukrainian citizen Mykhailo Saakashvili,” said Mr. Zelensky in his nightly speech on Monday, with a variation of Mr. Saakashvili’s name.
Mr. Zelensky also reiterated a request to Georgia to release Mr. Saakashvili for medical treatment, and called on the Georgian ambassador to Ukraine to leave for Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, within 48 hours to consult the Georgian authorities on this matter . Like their respective nations, Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Saakashvili have a shared history of fighting Russian aggression. Mr. Saakashvili was the president of Georgia when Russia invaded in 2008, and his efforts to secure NATO and European Union membership for the country have been opposed by Russian President Vladimir V. Putin.
Georgia’s current government, however, is pro-Russian and anti-Western. Mass protests broke out in the country earlier this year over what many Georgians saw as anti-democratic moves. Some demonstrations overlapped with demands for Mr. Saakashvili’s freedom.
Mr Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies on how Georgia is “not ignoring” its imprisoned former president.
“Save this man,” he said. “No government in Europe has the right to execute people.”