Mikheil Saakashvili: "Putin got rid of Navalny, his enemy number two is me"

JAMnews

Tbilisi

Saakashvili and Navalny

Incarcerated former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, participated remotely in a court hearing on February 21st, where he declared, “Putin got rid of his number one enemy, Navalny. And the second enemy he has in his hands is me, Saakashvili.”

This is the second statement by Mikheil Saakashvili on the matter following the assassination of the Russian oppositioner. In his initial Facebook post, Saakashvili disclosed that Putin often compared him to Navalny and “hated both of us.”

Saakashvili continued, “Alexei Navalny was killed. I had correspondence with Navalny. After corresponding with me, he apologized for what he said about Georgia in 2008, I greatly appreciated that.

I was poisoned a few days after the start of the invasion of Ukraine so that the world wouldn’t notice my disappearance. God saved me from death, and I still trust in God and trust in you – the Georgian people and the international community.

Navalny expressed solidarity with me from his prison cell. Before him, they killed [Anna] Politkovskaya, whom I knew very well, [Boris] Nemtsov, with whom I had many disagreements, but we were very close, and now Navalny.

Putin publicly expressed his desire [to hang me by the balls]. From the very beginning, he threatened that I would end up in prison, that he would definitely destroy me physically. When Putin spoke about Navalny, he did not mention his name but said about him: this is the Russian Saakashvili. […]

He has repeatedly stated that Mikhail Saakashvili and Navalny are his number one enemies. He got rid of one enemy number one, the other is in his hands – because we all know perfectly well that everything related to the penitentiary system of Georgia is fully controlled by the Russian special services,” Saakashvili wrote.

After Navalny’s death, demands to release Saakashvili are being actively voiced

After the death of Russian oppositioner Alexei Navalny in prison, demands for the release of Mikhail Saakashvili have become even more pronounced. His associates claim that “it is unsafe for Saakashvili to remain in prison, as he could be killed there at any moment on Vladimir Putin’s orders.”

The opposition “National Movement” (founded by Mikheil Saakashvili) has initiated a petition drive in various regions of Georgia demanding the release of the former president.

During the recent Munich Conference, Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski addressed Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili regarding Mikhail Saakashvili:

“I was the first Polish defense minister to visit Georgia. As a friend of Georgia, I want you, Madam President, to know that we remember that your predecessor, President Saakashvili, attended this conference, and for many of us, he is a symbol of Georgia’s modernization.

We respect the rule of law in your country, but we believe that adherence to it is a very important issue. It is important that it is treated fairly. And you can certainly contribute to his release. All international supporters of Georgia will welcome this.”

Salome Zourabichvili left Sikorski’s appeal unanswered.

On February 20, it became known that a member of French President Emmanuel Macron’s team, Natalie Loiseau, sent a letter regarding Mikhail Saakashvili to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell.

Loiseau urges European leaders to pay more attention to the fate of political opponents imprisoned around the world in light of Alexei Navalny’s death, especially Mikhail Saakashvili.

“Georgia has been granted candidate status for accession to the European Union, which undoubtedly corresponds to the aspirations of the Georgian people.

In this context, it is even more shocking that the country, which is striving to join the European Union, is holding in prison a man who was its president, who led Georgia to democracy at the head of the ‘Rose Revolution,’ a man who fought for human rights, independence of the judiciary from corruption and interference from Russia.

We urge you to send a clear signal to the Georgian authorities that they have a choice, and this choice will have consequences.

They can continue to follow the path of shared fundamental European values, release Mikheil Saakashvili, and allow him to leave Georgia for treatment abroad on time.

Or they can leave him in captivity, regardless of his health. And then serious doubts must arise about the reality of the Georgian authorities’ desire to approach the EU.

If the EU can speak clearly about the cases of political opponents imprisoned in former Soviet Union countries, it will show that Alexei Navalny’s struggle continues and that he did not die in vain,” the letter from Natalie Loiseau states.