Saakashvili thanked Zelensky for his support in a letter from prison

Former President of Georgia, Head of the Executive Committee of the National Council of Reforms of Ukraine Mikhail Saakashvili wrote a letter to President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. The text of the letter was published on Saakashvili's Facebook page on October 5.

Saakashvili noted that he loves Georgia and Ukraine more than life, which he considers his second homeland.

 

"Dear Vladimir Alexandrovich, I am deeply touched by your words and the response of a real high-class statesman to my illegal arrest and imprisonment in Georgia on falsified charges that no one in the world except Russia recognizes," Saakashvili wrote.

 

The politician also said that he is a personal prisoner of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 

"Since I am actually Putin's personal prisoner, I highly appreciate your principled position on the protection of Ukraine, the entire region and all prisoners of the empire," Saakashvili added.

 

Saakashvili was detained on October 1 in Tbilisi in an apartment on Guramishvili Avenue after his return to Georgia. A criminal case has been opened against him on crossing the country's border.

 

On October 3, Zelensky recalled that Saakashvili is a Ukrainian citizen, so he will deal with the issue of his return. However, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stressed that Saakashvili will be able to return to Ukraine only after he has served the entire prison term in his homeland. He also said that the former president and his team planned to kill the oppositionists in order to provoke riots and blame the Georgian authorities.

 

The ex-president was convicted in absentia in the cases of the murder of banker Sandro Girgvliani and the beating of deputy Valery Gelashvili. In the first case, he was sentenced to three years in prison, in the second - to six. Saakashvili is also involved in the cases of the dispersal of the opposition rally on November 7, 2007, the pogrom of the Imedi TV company and the embezzlement of funds from the state budget - they continue to be considered by the courts.