Georgia seeks apology from Moldova, Ukraine over Saakashvili torture accusations

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Head of the Georgian parliament said on Friday that his country's authorities are waiting for an apology from the presidents of Ukraine and Moldova, as well as some European countries over accusations of allegedly mistreating former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in prison.

Shalva Papuashvili, in a televised interview, said a report released by a European human rights body proved that Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Maya Sandu "lied" when they accused Georgia of torturing Saakashvili.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on Thursday published the report noting satisfactory conditions of Saakashvili's detention in the private Vivamed clinic in Georgia's capital Tbilisi.

"Today we learned that President Zelenskyy lied when he accused Georgia of torturing Saakashvili, we learned that President Sandu lied when she accused Georgia of torturing Saakashvili. We found out that the European lawmakers who accused Georgia of torturing Saakashvili also lied.

"Today we learned that many Western politicians have disgraced themselves in front of Georgia and the Georgian people, as they wrongly accused Georgia of torturing Saakashvili. We found out about it and therefore we expect these people to apologize," he stressed.

Saakashvili served as Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013. After the end of his presidential term, he left the country and four criminal cases were filed against him. In two of them, he was sentenced in absentia to three and six years in prison.

In October 2021, Saakashvili secretly arrived in Georgia, but was detained and additionally charged with illegal border crossing. In May 2022, due to a deterioration of health, he was taken to the private clinic in Tbilisi, where he is still staying.