The Georgian authorities have launched a politically motivated trial against Mikheil Saakashvili, a Ukrainian politician and former President of Georgia. Ukraine is demanding that the charges be dropped and its citizen released immediately.
There is no doubt that the detention of the former President and the proceedings against him are yet another manifestation of the instrumental use of justice, in blatant violation of all democratic standards and as part of the Georgian authorities’ campaign.
The health condition of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is extremely critical. Saakashvili’s poor state of health was previously reported when he went on hunger strike for 51 days in detention in protest against his 2018 conviction. According to this ruling, the former president was sanctioned with a six-year prison sentence for alleged abuse of power, which he considers a politically motivated verdict.
An independent medical team found Saakashvili’s health had deteriorated “as a result of torture, ill-treatment, inadequate medical care and prolonged hunger strike”.
The former Georgian president was detained shortly after arriving in his homeland after eight years of absence on the eve of the country’s parliamentary elections at the end of 2021. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, of which Saakashvili is also a citizen, appealed to the Georgian authorities to treat the politician with “respect” — but with no effect to date.
Open Dialogue Foundation
Akcja Demokracja
Aleksander Kwasniewski, former President of the Republic of Poland
Jolanta Kwasniewska, former First Lady of the Republic of Poland
And
Committee for the Defence of Democracy
Citizens of Poland
Marek Belka, Member of the European Parliament, former Prime Minister of Poland
Barbara Bielicka-Malinowska, President of the European Union of Women – Polish Section
Robert Biedroń, Member of the European Parliament
Adam Bodnar, Professor at SWPS University, former Ombudsman
Michał Boni, former Minister of Administration and Digitalisation, former Member of the European Parliament
Jerzy Buzek, Member of the European Parliament, former President of the EP, former Prime Minister of Poland
Tomasz Frankowski, Member of the European Parliament
Agnieszka Holland, film director
Danuta Hübner, Member of the European Parliament, former EU Commissioner
Łukasz Kohut, Member of the European Parliament
Ewa Kopacz, Member of the European Parliament, former Prime Minister of Poland
Krzysztof Lisek, Director of IRI Moldova, former Member of the European Parliament
Hanna Machińska, Professor at the University of Warsaw, former Deputy Ombudsman
Marek J. Malinowski, Professor at the University of Gdańsk, former Director of the Institute of Political Science
Wojciech Mazowiecki, journalist
Adam Michnik, Editor-in-Chief of Gazeta Wyborcza
Barbara Nowacka, Member of the Polish Parliament, President of the Polish Initiative
Janina Ochojska, Member of the European Parliament, President of Polish Humanitarian Action
Krzysztof Płomiński, Titular Ambassador, Diplomatic Advisor of the National Chamber of Commerce
Wojciech Sadurski, Professor at the University of Sydney and the University of Warsaw
Radosław Sikorski, Member of the European Parliament, former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jerzy Stępień, Foundation in Support of Local Democracy, former President of the Constitutional Tribunal
Michał Szczerba, Member of the Polish Parliament
Krzysztof Śmiszek, Member of Parliament of the Republic of Poland
Marcin Święcicki, former Mayor of Warsaw, President of the European Movement Forum
Róża Thun, Member of the European Parliament
Ewa Wrzosek, Lex Super Omnia prosecutor
Mirosław Wyrzykowski, Professor at the University of Warsaw, former judge of the Constitutional Tribunal
The appeal was initiated by the Open Dialogue Foundation, Akcja Demokracja and Aleksander and Jolanta Kwasniewski. Organisations and public figures wishing to join the signatories are invited to contact [email protected].
Why is this case important?
We and the international community are concerned that Saakashvili’s treatment, including that he has been deprived of adequate medical care, violates international human rights standards enshrined in agreements and conventions to which Georgia is a party, such as Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention Against Torture or the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Method of delivery
Submission to the President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili
Source: naszademokracja.pl
