Georgian President Considers Pardoning Former President Saakashvili

Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili is considering the possibility of pardoning former President Mikheil Saakashvili, given her alignment with him and his party, the United National Movement. This was reported on Tuesday, August 6, by Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

"Thanks to Mikheil Saakashvili, Salomé Zourabichvili has remained in office. The National Movement has kept her in place to use her when they deem it necessary and when the situation is right," Papuashvili noted.

On March 15, it was reported that Saakashvili could face charges of treason if he is pardoned. It was mentioned that Zurabishvili intends to sign a pardon decree for Saakashvili. However, Guram Macharashvili, a parliament member from the "Power of the People" party, emphasized that in such a case, a treason charge could be brought against Saakashvili due to his orders to initiate military actions in August 2008.

Saakashvili left Georgia in 2013. During the tenure of the "Georgian Dream" party, four criminal cases were initiated against him. He was sentenced in absentia to three and six years in prison for two of these cases.

In October 2021, Saakashvili returned to Georgia but was promptly arrested and officially charged with illegal border crossing, allegedly committed on September 28 when he secretly arrived at the Georgian port of Poti from Ukraine by ferry. In May 2022, due to a deterioration in his health, Saakashvili was transferred to the private Tbilisi clinic "Vivamed," where he remains to this day.