"Georgia is a country where Putin and his ideology predominate" - former president Margvelashvili

Margvelashvili on video of Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili has been literally sentenced to death, and “we are all watching it,” fourth President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili said in an interview with the program 360 Degrees on Palitra TV, referring to video from the Vivamed clinic where third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, is being treated. The video was distributed on December 14 by the Georgian Penitentiary Service.

The video, without sound, lasts 10 minutes and 29 seconds; it is edited and consists of frames taken by a surveillance camera at different times. Three dates appear in the video: August 9, October 4, and finally, for a few seconds, December 12.

On December 13, Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze announced his intention to distribute this video. According to him, the penitentiary service “will be forced to publish certain video evidence” if the “simulation campaign” about Saakashvili’s condition does not stop.

According to Giorgi Margvelashvili, after watching the video his first impression was one of shock, seeing Saakashvili so unwell. He says his lawyers’ request to meet with Saakashvili was denied.

“When I saw Saakashvili in the military hospital in Gori, there was nothing like that. When we see this video, the question arises – is he in a hospital or a concentration camp? He has changed drastically,” Margvelashvili said.

Those who see something else in these frames absolutely do not understand the real situation, Margvelashvili said.

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In assessing these videos, Margvelashvili also said that the only country where Putin and his ideology predominates is Georgia:

“I really did not think that you would be slaves of the Russians to such an extent. The Georgians are torturing the president whom Putin called a personal enemy. And then we will show all this to the Russians.”

If society does not wake up, it will come to the point that “we and our children will be drafted into the army to fight the Ukrainians,” Margvelashvili said.

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In May 2013 non-partisan Giorgi Margvelashvili was nominated by the ruling Georgian Dream coalition as a presidential candidate. Margvelashvili won a landslide victory, gaining 62.18% of the vote. His past endeavors were in politics, social and educational activities.

Before joining the Georgian Dream government, Giorgi Margvelashvili was known as a political expert. For more than ten years he has held various positions, including rector of the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA), a leading university in the fields of public administration, law, international relations and journalism.

The first conflict between President Margvelashvili and the informal ruler of the country, Bidzina Ivanishvili, arose out of disputes over which residence the president should work out of. Ivanishvili and the ruling coalition were opposed to the new president occupying the residence built by Saakashvili in the Avlabari district. For Margvelashvili a more modest building, the Orbeliani Palace, was refurbished. Nevertheless Margvelashvili occupied the presidential palace in Avlabari.

Ivanishvili said that the new president “showed character.” After that, the tension and conflicts between the ruling party and the president continued to the end of his presidency.

Margvelashvili expressed his open support for the opposition TV station Rustavi 2, which the government eventually took over. Rustavi 2 founders David Dvali and Jardji Akimidze are still fighting for the TV station in court.

Margvelashvili on video of Saakashvili