Navalny apologies for insulting Georgians in 2008

JAMnews

Tbilisi

Navalny’s letter on Saakashvili

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has published a letter from prison in which he writes that Mikheil Saakashvili’s imprisonment interferes with Georgia’s European future, and that this imprisonment is “terrible and heartless.” Navalny also apologized for insulting Georgians in 2008.

“To my shame, under the influence of the fact that my friend was under shelling in Tskhinvali, I wrote a post in 2008 with an insulting epithet about Georgians. For this I apologized and I apologize again,” Navalny writes.

In August 2008, during the Russian military aggression in Georgia, Alexei Navalny supported the actions of the Russian army and the recognition by Russian President Medvedev of the independence of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.

Navalny urged the Russian army to aim missiles at the Georgian General Staff. He also called Georgians “rodents”.

A few years later, Navalny apologized for insulting Georgians, although he said that his principled position remained unchanged.

Navalny says that it would be best to release Mikheil Saakashvili with a suspended sentence. He calls on the authorities to take a step “in the spirit of Christian mercy and peacemaking.”

“Saakashvili is suffering, his family is suffering, and the whole of Georgia is worse off for what is happening, and there is nothing good in this even for those who would like to keep Saakashvili in prison until death.

I believe in a happy European future for Georgia. This is a cool country that has everything for prosperity. I believe that the political confrontation will be peacefully and safely resolved.

But this imprisonment and torment of the former president is terrible and heartless. It affects the European choice, it affects development, it reduces the chances for a normal future. It lowers morale and fills the country with malice.

It is clear that this confrontation is fierce and with emotions to the core. I have no doubt that Saakashvili’s opponents have something to remember and have something to avenge.

I want to call out if anyone hears. There is no need to take revenge, although one may want to. The whole of Georgia will suffer from this revenge. This is a dead-end solution, strategically unfavorable for everyone. And cruel.

As usual, everyone wants to save face. But the government must be more merciful than its opponents.

Saakashvili is very sick, and all the talk about faking it is nonsense. Believe me, prison sucks health out of anyone and at great speed. To release him for treatment with a suspended sentence, or something like that, which will allow the parties to comply with the law and save face, would be the right thing to do.

Now is Holy Week, and then Easter. A good time for a difficult but merciful act for the good of the country and a step towards the reconciliation of the nation.

I call on the Georgian authorities and all opponents of Mikheil Saakashvili to take this step in the spirit of Christian mercy and peacemaking,” Navalny wrote.

The case of Alexei Navalny

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny is currently in a labor camp in Russia. On February 2, 2021, the court sentenced him to 2 years and 8 months in prison. Initially, Navalny was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months, but 10 months spent under house arrest were deducted from the sentence. On March 22, 2022, Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison in a strict penal colony for large-scale fraud and contempt of court.

On August 20, 2020, Navalny fell ill on a Tomsk-Moscow flight. Two days later, the Russian oppositionist was taken to a clinic in Germany, where various independent laboratories confirmed that he had been poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group.

Putin’s biggest opponent was in a coma for almost a month. Navalny was discharged from a Berlin hospital on September 22, 2020. After undergoing treatment and rehabilitation, he returned to Russia on January 17, 2021 and was immediately arrested.

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According to Anna Veduta, vice-president of the Anti-Corruption Foundation Alexei Navalny, the health of the Russian oppositionist has deteriorated in recent days. In 15 days, he lost 8 kilograms.

According to Veduta, Navalny got worse after he was transferred from an ordinary prison cell to a temporary detention cell. According to Veduta, it is possible that Navalny will be poisoned again.

In January 2021, MEPs drafted a resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Navalny and other imprisoned activists. In addition, the resolution provided for increased sanctions against Russia by the EU countries. The European Parliament repeated this request in April 2021.

Navalny’s letter on Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili case

As for the former President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, he has been serving his sentence since October 1, 2021. Due to the state of health, his family members and lawyers demanded a deferment or release from punishment of Saakashvili and filed this petition with the court. However, Mikheil Saakashvili was never sentenced.

The alarming conclusion was published by the council created by the public defender, who visited Mikheil Saakashvili at the Vivamed clinic on April 2, 2023. According to the report, the patient’s condition has deteriorated significantly since February 19 (previous visit) – he lost four kilograms, he has fourth-degree cachexia, and severe sarcopenia. It is noted that when getting out of bed, the patient has a strong drop in blood pressure.

“If the weight loss continues, the third president of Georgia will be bedridden,” the conclusion says.

The conclusion states that “at present, the patient’s movement without supervision is dangerous,” since the risk of falling and damage or fractures of the body is very high.

Navalny’s letter on Saakashvili