TBILISI – Supporters of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili gathered outside the prison in Rustavi again on Nov. 2 evening to demand his release from custody.
“Today, 500 of our supporters have come here, tomorrow, 1,000 will come, and the day after tomorrow, it will be 1,500. Our protest at this place will continue around the clock,” Levan Khabeishvili, one of the leaders of the United National Movement opposition party, said.
As reported, the opposition protesters also demanded Saakashvili’s immediate transfer to a city hospital.
The rally ended peacefully.
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 Oct. 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. He has declared a hunger strike.
