Outside a prison in Georgia, where Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of the Caucasus region country is held, around 3 000 protesters gathered to call for his release, British-Canadian news agency Reuters reports.
In 2018, Saakashvili was convicted in absentia of abuse of power and concealing evidence in Georgia. He returned to Georgia on October 1 and was arrested to face a six-year sentence. Saakashvili, who built a political career in Ukraine in the past decade, has rejected the charges as politically motivated.
On Saturday, November 6, opposition supporters took part in a rally to protest against the results of local elections and to demand the release of Saakashvili. The protest was largely peaceful.
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Georgia’s State Security Service commented that the protests were part of a planned coup devised and directed by Saakashvili. According to the Russian state news agency TASS, a spokesman of the State Security Service evaluated: «The organisers of the protests plan to block government buildings. (..) Those actions aimed at violently seizing power are being planned by the convicted Mikheil Saakashvili from prison.»
3 000 protesters in Georgia gather to support imprisoned ex-President Saakashvili
