Ukraine urges Georgia to hand over its former leader
Photo: News-Georgia
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the actions of the Georgian police against former president and Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili psychological and physical violence and called on Georgia to stop these tortures and return the convict to Ukraine.
"We call on the Georgian authorities to immediately stop abusing Mikheil Saakashvili and hand him over to Ukraine. Do not play with a person's life for the sake of political revenge," said the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
The ministry added that the Georgian authorities acted "in the worst traditions of the USSR NKVD" when they used "psychological and physical violence" against Saakashvili.
They also "refused him urgently needed medical assistance, deliberately creating a direct threat to his life."
The gross violation of human rights against a Ukrainian citizen contradicts Tbilisi's declared course for EU membership, Ukraine's foreign ministry said. This attitude towards citizens of another country indicates the collapse of democracy in Georgia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called on foreign governments and international organizations to defend Saakashvili publicly.
Earlier, it was reported that the Georgian government saw no objective reasons for transferring Mikheil Saakashvili to the intensive care unit.
The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, demanded that he be admitted to the Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili and called on human rights defenders to influence the Georgian authorities.
On February 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky showed photos of Saakashvili at a press conference with the Austrian president, accusing the Georgian authorities of publicly torturing and killing him.
Prisoner Saakashvili showed how he lost weight during his imprisonment at a court hearing considering lawyers' requests to release the former Georgian leader due to his health.
He also stated that he was tortured in prison and poisoned.
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