The European Parliament called on the Georgian authorities to release Mikheil Saakashvili

The European Parliament approved a resolution calling on the Georgian authorities to release former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been in custody since autumn 2021, and allow him to undergo treatment abroad.

The press release of the European Parliament notes that the deputies are seriously concerned about the sharp deterioration in the health of the politician, therefore they urge the Georgian authorities not to forget that they are responsible for ensuring the health and well-being of Saakashvili, as well as providing him with adequate treatment.

In addition, the document emphasizes that the way in which prisoners are treated in a country is an important indicator of the government's commitment to European values.

Separately, the European Parliament called on the Council of Europe and EU partners to impose sanctions against former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. The resolution calls him an oligarch responsible for persecuting Saakashvili out of personal revenge.

The document was supported by 577 deputies, 33 people voted against.

The resolution of the European Parliament is not legally binding.

• In January 2018, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Mikheil Saakashvili in absentia to three years in prison in the case of the murder of bank employee Sandro Girgvliani, finding the politician guilty under the article on abuse of power. In the summer of the same year, the court sentenced Saakashvili in absentia to six years in prison in the case of organizing an attack on former parliamentarian Valery Gelashvili.
• In October 2021, the former president secretly returned to Georgia, but he was soon detained and arrested. In prison, the politician's condition began to deteriorate. Since May 2022, Saakashvili has been in the Vivamed clinic in Tbilisi. During court hearings, 20 doctors said that Saakashvili was in critical condition. In February 2023, the Tbilisi City Court refused to satisfy the defense's motion, which demanded either that Saakashvili be released from punishment or that the execution of sentences be suspended.
• A few days before, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry demanded that the Georgian authorities "stop mocking" the politician and return him to Kiev, since Saakashvili has Ukrainian citizenship.