Hundreds rally outside prison for Georgia's former president
Hundreds of demonstrators have rallied outside a prison where former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been held since his arrest after returning to the country last week
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Hundreds of demonstrators rallied Monday outside a prison where former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been held since his arrest after returning to the country last week.
Saakashvili, who left Georgia in 2014 and became a Ukrainian citizen, was later sentenced to up to six years in prison on abuse of power convictions handed down in absentia.
He came back to the country with the aim of galvanizing opposition as Georgia held nationwide municipal elections, and was arrested hours after posting videos Friday on social media announcing that he was back.
The United National Movement, which Saakashvili founded, is the most prominent political force opposing the governing Georgian Dream party.
Georgian Dream won 47% of the vote in the weekend municipal elections, well ahead of the 31% received by UNM.
“While Mikheil Saakashvili is in prison, each of us is a prisoner,” UNM chairman Nika Melia said at Monday's protest in Rustavi, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the capital Tbilisi