President says “principal question” on pardoning Saakashvili will be “answered in time”

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday said the “principal question” on whether she would pardon the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvi would be “answered in time”.

In a briefing she called in the evening, following a rally held outside her residence where protesters called on her not to pardon Saakashvili, Zourabichvili claimed both the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition United National Movement were “interested” in the former President’s return to the domestic political discourse, lamenting that there was “no other topic” left for the country’s political scene.

In other comments, Zourabichvili also criticised the recent promotions of Levan Murusidze and Mikheil Chinchaladze, two judges involved in some of the controversial decisions made by the judiciary during the previous United National Movement Government.

I am only interested in this country [and] its European future, which everyone is fighting against. No one can see that the public wants it [European future] and our public will receive it no matter what”, the President said in the briefing, adding “we're on this path [of European integration]” irrespective of other factors.

Zourabichvili told the BBC last month she had “no power” to pardon Saakashvili as cases against the latter were still pending and the domestic legislation prevented pardons from being issued before all outstanding court cases against individuals were completed.

• Ruling party Sec Gen: pardoning Saakashvili would be “gravest” move for President’s career

She also said she would not pardon the former President as she did not wish to “become an instrument for more polarisation” on the domestic political scene, and also referenced the “autocratic” former Government of Saakashvili as her motivation against issuing a pardon.

The controversy around Saakashvili’s ongoing detention stems from claims by his legal team and a part of the domestic opposition on the former President requiring treatment abroad. A trial hearing on whether to grant the former official a release or postponement of the rest of his sentence on medical grounds is ongoing.

Saakashvili has been receiving treatment at the Vivamedi clinic since May 12, after he was moved from the Gori Military Hospital - where he was transferred in late November 2021 from the hospital of the Gldani No.18 prison. The latter, in turn, served as his detention location after his move from the Rustavi No.12 prison, the initial detention venue, in early November last year.

The third President of Georgia, currently a citizen of Ukraine, was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 on his clandestine return to Georgia ahead of municipal elections. He has been serving a six-year term for abuse of power in two separate cases stemming back to his time in office, while three other cases are pending.