Leyla Rahimli
Sevgi Ismayilbayli
The Georgian Dispatch, 20 December, Tbilisi - To the court hearing held on the "November 7" case of former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, according to the information given by the correspondent of The Georgian Dispatch's, the third President joined the meeting online from the clinic where he received treatment.
Witnesses invited by the public prosecutor were interrogated at the meeting.
In parallel with the court hearing, the leaders and supporters of the opposition "United National Movement" party held a demonstration in front of the city court demanding the release of Saakashvili. Dozens of people participated in the action that lasted more than 1 hour. The participants emphasized that Saakashvili was unjustly arrested and his rights were violated.
According to Levan Khabeishvili, the leader of the National Movement, who participated in the trial, the third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, is a political prisoner of the regime, and his release is of great importance.
"When we talk about the 2024 elections, our main demand will be the freedom of President Saakashvili. Otherwise, if the main opposition leader is in prison, these elections cannot be considered free and democratic,” he stressed.
Giorgi Vashadze, the leader of the "New Georgia" party, said that when we say that the country has obtained candidate status in the 2024 elections and that we want to enter the European Union, we must understand that it will be very difficult to achieve this in front of the court with President Saakashvili.
As for the expectations of the participants of the action from the court, the vast majority of them say that the trial is a show.
"We want the release of our ex-president Saakashvili because this is just a political game," says participant Ana Javariyani.
Another participant, Maria Gabaridze, shares the same opinion: "We do not expect any results from this court. The court has been sold to the state. Therefore, they will do whatever they want.”
The former president of Georgia has been charged under the third part of Article 333 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which implies exceeding official authority, which caused a substantial violation of the rights of a natural or legal person, society, or the state's legal interest. The mentioned charge is punishable by 5 to 8 years of imprisonment.
Along with Saakashvili, Vano Merabishvili, Zurab Adeishvili, Davit Kezerashvili, and Gigi Ugulava are accused in the mentioned case.
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