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Georgia arrested former President Mikheil Saakashvili after returning to the country after eight years in exile, as the former leader sought to mobilize supporters ahead of national municipal elections seen as critical to the country’s political makeup.
Local media showed a video of smiling Saakashvili being escorted to Rustavi prison on Friday evening.
“I want to inform the public that the third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, is arrested. He was transferred to a prison establishment, ”Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said at a press conference on Friday.
The announcement came about 18 hours after Saakashvili, who has been sentenced in absentia and has lived in Ukraine for the past few years, posted on Facebook that he had returned to the country. Georgian officials earlier today denied he was in Georgia.
In the messages, Saakashvili called Saturday’s elections “crucial” for Georgia and called for a rally in Tbilisi on Sunday, vowing to join.
Saakashvili was convicted in absentia of abuse of power in 2018 and sentenced to six years in prison. He denies any wrongdoing and says the case is politically motivated.
President Salomé Zourabishvili said she would not forgive Saakashvili, TASS news agency reported on Friday.
Robin Forestier-Walker of Al Jazeera, in a report from the Georgian capital Tbilisi, said Saakashvili’s return to Georgia was “important” and that the former leader had been talking about it for many years.
“Now it seems he has put all his cards on the table and he hopes this comeback will somehow have an impact on Georgian politics – which is very turbulent at the moment,” a- he declared.
Forestier-Walker said Georgian politics have become increasingly polarized and bitter, and focused on political figures rather than issues.
“The real issues this country faces – a struggling economy and terrible COVID infection rates – this stuff has been underestimated. Now we have this mercurial figure from the past reappearing on the scene trying to shake things up. “
Forestier-Walker said the big question now is whether his return on the eve of these municipal elections is going to have any effect on the outcome.
“Because these elections are considered very important. These are municipal elections, but they are seen by the opposition as a referendum on this government. And if the government fails to garner sufficient support, it could be forced to call early elections. “
Links with Ukraine
Prior to his arrest, Saakashvili lived in Ukraine where he headed a government reform agency.
This development should cause a diplomatic incident with Ukraine, as Saakashvili only holds Ukrainian citizenship which was allowed in 2015 before briefly becoming governor of Odessa. His Georgian nationality was revoked in 2015 due to the country’s law against dual nationality at the time.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it summoned the Georgian ambassador after his arrest.
Saakashvili has lived and worked in Ukraine since his exile from Georgia [File: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]Saakashvili – who came to power in 2004 following a peaceful uprising – still commands a staunchly loyal following in the Caucasus country.
On Friday morning, he said in video messages on Facebook that he had returned to Georgia and was in the western city of Batumi.
He called on his supporters to vote for the United National Movement or for any small party opposed to the ruling Georgian Dream party.
“Everyone has to go to the polls and vote, and on October 3, we have to fill the Place de la Liberté. If there are 100,000 people, no one can beat us, ”he posted in the video.
“You see, I risked everything, my life, my freedom, everything to come here. I only want one thing from you: to go to the polls, ”he said.
Authorities claimed the video was false, denying its presence in Georgia, which they later explained by saying that it was necessary for the arrest operation.
Garibashvili said Georgian law enforcement followed Saakashvili’s movements from Ukraine to Georgia and “choose a time and place for the police operation that would create a minimum of obstacles to arrest.”
Critics accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of using criminal prosecution to punish political opponents and journalists.
Interpol refused Tbilisi’s requests to issue a Red Notice against Saakashvili.
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