TBILISI: Georgia’s jailed opposition leader and ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili denounced on Monday his “politically motivated” prosecution and ill-treatment in prison as he went on trial on abuse of office charges. It was his first public appearance since he was arrested on October 1 shortly after his return from exile.
Georgia’s president from 2004 to 2013, Saakashvili had refused food for 50 days to protest against his prosecution.
“Everyone knows I must not be in jail because all the charges against me are trumped-up and politically motivated,” Saakashvili said, addressing the judges from a glass box in the Tbilisi City Court.
At one point during his emotional speech in the courtroom, he switched to English to make a statement “for Georgia’s international partners”.
“I was tortured, I was treated inhumanely, beaten up, and humiliated” in custody, said Saakashvili.
He lost about 20 kilograms during his hunger strike, and on Monday the 53-year-old looked pale. He also admitted making “more than enough mistakes” during his nine years in power.
“I very much regret numerous mistakes, first of all that we have failed to build independent judiciary. I apologise to everyone who has suffered as a result,” he said.
More than 1,000 Saakashvili supporters rallied outside the court in the capital, waving Georgian and EU flags and chanting his name.
Police arrested several dozen demonstrators after they blocked traffic at a nearby street, pro-opposition Mtavari TV said.
Saakashvili called off the hunger strike when he was moved to a military hospital on November 20 after doctors warned he could soon die. The Georgian authorities initially banned him from attending the trial but then reversed the decision, after the US Department of State demanded his right to a fair trial be respected.
— AFP
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