The former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has revealed that President Vladimir of Russia told him that he would hang him by the balls, it has emerged.
Mikheil Saakashvili made the remarks in an exclusive interview conducted exclusively by German tabloid Bild via email exchange because it is the only way to reach him in a prison cell.
Mikheil Saakashvili (55) was the president of Georgia from 2004 to 2013. He was convicted of committing abuses of power while in office.
Saakashvili was arrested in 2021 after making a surprise return to Georgia by smuggling himself into the country on a ferry from Ukraine.
He called for mass anti-government demonstrations, but was quickly arrested by Georgian authorities.
Saakashvili was granted Ukrainian citizenship in 2015, and spoke only in Ukrainian at his court appearance, wearing a t-shirt with “I am Ukrainian” printed on it. He also served as the governor of the western province of Odesa between 2015 and 2016.
Press: Mr. Saakashvili, you strongly criticized Putin. Do you think you are a prisoner of the Georgian government by his order? If so, is there any evidence?
Mikheil Saakashvili: “I’m absolutely sure. Putin said that he would hang me by the balls. He and Dmitry Medvedev (57, former President of Russia, ed.) said several times that I should be put on trial. They gave Bidzina Ivanishvili – my successor who ran against me – two billion dollars for his election campaign. The first charges were brought against me when I was governor of Odessa and stopped the Russians’ expansion there. Today, Georgia is owned by a Russian oligarch and is governed by a medieval feudal lord.”
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said that the Georgian government is about to publicly murder you. What will be the consequences for the future of Georgia?
Saakashvili: „For Zelenskiy – who I think of as a modern Churchill – this is an important issue. First, I am the chair of his current reform council. My office in the Ukrainian President’s administration is next to his. By my imprisonment, Putin is sending a signal to Zelenskiy: this is what will await him, too, one day if he doesn’t obey.”
At a joint conference in Kyiv with the President of Austria, Alexander van der Bellen (79), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for Saakashvili’s release. He also showed pictures illustrating Saakashvili’s poor condition.
Saakashvili continues: “For Georgia, my murder will mean the end of Georgian democracy and sovereignty (…). Sometimes I think that the current government wants to start a civil war. They think they could maintain their power through this.”
Your supporters say that you are the private prisoner of your successor Ivanishvili, at Russia’s behest. How would he benefit from your imprisonment?
Saakashvili: “Ivanishvili is tied to Russia by an umbilical cord. He likes the Russian political system. At the same time, he and his puppets accuse the West of having sent me in order to topple them – which is complete nonsense. Ivanishvili is not pleased about the great sympathy I enjoy in the West. He is also handing Georgia over to Putin, quietly and without a sound. But the attention surrounding me had foiled this plan.”
Saakashvili continues: “They don’t want me to return to Ukraine and help Zelenskiy. Putin said that he would have me tortured and poisoned. As a reaction to Biden’s visit to Kyiv, Maria Zakharova (47, spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ed.) herself said that my imprisonment and difficult situation is a victory for Russia.”
“If Saakashvili dies in prison, Georgia’s European perspective will also die,” wrote Polish EU politician Radoslaw Sikorski. Does Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future depend on what will happen to you?
Saakashvili: “The European perspective won’t die, but my death will indeed cause great chaos in Georgia.”
How far will the Georgian government go? Can they risk letting you die?
Saakashvili: “When I left Kyiv, I weighed 120 kilos. Today, I weigh 65 kilos. I have terrible pain in my entire body. I am completely bedridden and often lose consciousness.
Many people are wondering whether I’m still alive. According to MRI examinations, my brain is damaged. Most of my symptoms are due to metal poisoning. No lab in Georgia can treat this.
The Polish government has prepared a clinic for my treatment, but I could also imagine being treated in the Charité in Berlin, where Navalny was also treated.”
What is your message to Germany?
Saakashvili: “For me, Germany is linked with justice. I spent my last evening in Europe in the restaurant of the Frankfurt opera with friends who are members of the German parliament. I hope that Chancellor Scholz and Minister Baerbock won’t tolerate me dying from medieval torture for all the world to see.”
“In general, I would like to ask Chancellor Scholz: do you think it’s normal that there is a country in Europe that is unofficially controlled by an oligarch?” Saakashvili comments.
“Georgia’s security apparatus is entirely controlled by oligarchs, even the prosecution and the courts – and everything is tied to Russia.”
What do you think is the reason why the current President of Georgia won’t pardon you?
Saakashvili: “She could at least postpone the execution of the judgement. Her argument that, in some cases, no judgement has yet been passed and hence she cannot pardon me, is untenable.”
Press also exclusively spoke to Saakashvili’s mother, Giuli Alasania (76).
Ms Alasania, how is your son? Are you concerned about this health and life?
Alasania: “My son’s condition is very serious. According to several doctors, some German, he is suffering from brain damage and reduced white blood cells, because he was poisoned in prison and heavy metals such as quicksilver and arsenic are in his body. He is very weak. For months now, he has had high fever and muscle atrophy. He also has severe pain in his fibres and joints. If he is not immediately detoxified, a fatal end is inevitable.”
How often are you allowed to see your son and what do you bring him?
Alasania: “I am permitted to see him twice a day, but only because I have been bringing him food after it was found out that he was poisoned in prison. I am the only one who is allowed to bring him food, allegedly for security reasons.”
What are these meetings between mother and son like? What do you talk about?
Alasania: “We mostly talk about Ukraine, the war that is continuing there, and perspectives. Unfortunately, it is not possible to talk about every topic, because we are constantly surveilled and listened to. They can publish what we are talking about, whenever they want. This has already happened many times.”
Do you think that your son is unjustly imprisoned?
Alasania: “It is acknowledged that my son is Putin’s prisoner. He was accused of made-up allegations and then imprisoned – which is unacceptable. My son was moving freely across the entire word ¬– except for Russia and Georgia.”
Are you also being surveilled or harassed?
Alasania: “Of course I am being controlled and observed. My family and I are spied upon. But that is less of my concern at the moment. My priority is to save my son’s life.”
What might your son’s future be like, if he were released?
Alasania: “I think that his future life would be related to Ukraine and its reconstruction.”
BILD
