TBILISI – Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili rules out the release of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili on parole and his handover to Ukraine.
“The main criminal is in prison, and he will spend at least six years there. They are deliberately disseminating information alleging that Saakashvili will be released on parole and that the Georgian authorities intend to hand Saakashvili over to Ukraine. All this information is complete nonsense,” Garibashvili told reporters on Oct. 21.
Saakashvili, former Georgian president and currently a citizen of Ukraine, secretly arrived in Georgia from Ukraine on Sept. 29. He was detained in Tbilisi on October 1 and is currently being held in a Rustavi prison.
Georgia earlier declared Saakashvili wanted as a person convicted in absentia in several criminal cases and treated as a suspect in some others. The Georgian authorities warned repeatedly that he would be detained immediately after he crossed the border. Saakashvili has described his detention as unlawful and the charges brought against him as falsified.
