Large-scale opposition rally in support of Mikheil Saakashvili is ongoing in Tbilisi

A large-scale opposition rally in support of Mikhail Saakashvili is taking place on Rutaveli Avenue in the capital of Georgia.

The protesters are not going to disperse until Mikhail Saakashvili is taken to the Gori military hospital.

It became known that Mikheil Saakashvili was taken to be taken to the Gori hospital in parallel with the beginning of the rally.

At a special briefing at the Ministry of Justice, which was supposed to start at 15:00, the Minister of Justice said that Mikheil Saakashvili was proposed to be transferred to the military hospital named after Georgiy Abramishvili of the Ministry of Defense in Gori.

“This is the place where his health and safety will be protected by the state”, the minister said, adding that this will happen if the opposition does not organize rallies outside the Gori hospital.

Two hours since the minister’s proposal, Saakashvili was still in the medical facility of the Gldani prison.

Eka Kherkheulidze, one of the members of the United National Movement, said that based on previous experience (the fraudulent transfer of Saakashvili from the Rustavi prison), Mikheil Saakashvili would not agree to the transfer without his lawyers.

The leader of the United National Movement, Nika Melia, said at the rally that they would wait for the government to fulfill its promise.

“I came here with a specific plan that I wanted to present to you. This plan would be applied in the most precise, non-violent form. On the way here, we were informed that Mikhail Saakashvili would be taken to the Gori hospital. Of course, if they wanted to take him to the hospital in Gori, they would not take him to Gldani, where there is no proper medical equipment (which was proven by three different councils). Our non-violent struggle has resulted in hourly statements by the international community. If not for this struggle, such statements would not have been made today”, Nika Melia said.

Melia did not announce specific plans for the near future, and did not specify what the opposition planned to do before the proposal to transfer to the Gori hospital. However, he said that what the opposition does today will attract the attention of the whole world.

“Until he is physically taken to the hospital, we must not leave. Let’s make sure that the life of Mikheil Saakashvili is no longer in danger, and after that we will talk about other plans”, Melia said.

The opposition does not stop fighting in the form of permanent rallies.

Gigi Ugulava, a member of the United National Movement, said in his speech at the rally that the ultimate goal is early elections and the release of prisoner Saakashvili.

Mikheil Saakashvili has been on hunger strike for 50 days. Yesterday, on November 18, the President who was imprisoned in the 18th medical facility in Gldani lost consciousness.

Yesterday Mikhail Saakashvili was visited by Mariam Jishkariani, President of the Sympathy Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims, and a group of experts set up by the Public Defender.

They once again called on the authorities to transfer Mikhail Saakashvili to a multidisciplinary clinic, arguing that the condition of the former president is “critical”.

The aggravation of the situation by Saakashvili was followed by a number of statements. Including from the US State Department.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price called on the Georgian government to heed the Ombudsman’s recommendations and to treat Saakashvili ‘fairly and with dignity’.

Today, November 19, the State Inspectorate sent a letter to the government with a request to transfer Mikhail Saakashvili to a multidisciplinary clinic.

Eleven Khoshtaria, the leader of the Droa party, whose health is also deteriorating, said she would refuse to take medicine until Saakashvili was sent to a multidisciplinary clinic.