The European Parliament made two changes regarding Georgia in the annual report on the implementation of the common foreign and security policy of the European Union.
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The amendments, authored by MP Anna Fotyga, concern the issues of the imprisonment of former President Mikheil Saakashvili and the construction of a Russian base in Ochamchire.
"Mikheil Saakashvili is Putin's personal enemy and his prisoner. We must not let him die in prison. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are occupied by Russia and should be returned to Georgia," wrote Anna Fotyga, a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, on the social network X.
The amendment included in paragraph 66 of the report calls on the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, to pardon Mikheil Saakashvili: "The European Parliament reiterates the call for the release of former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili on humanitarian grounds and urges President Salome Zurabishvili to exercise her constitutional right to pardon, which will contribute to reducing political polarization in the country."
In paragraph 64, the European Parliament condemns Russia's occupation of Georgian territory: "The European Parliament strongly condemns Russia's plans to build a permanent naval base in Ochamchira, occupied Abkhazia, and calls on the international community to support all efforts to punish this flagrant violation of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
The leaders of "Georgian Dream" consider the introduction of changes in the EU report about Mikheil Saakashvili as a provocation. Such texts "may be risky," says the Chair of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee, Mikheil Sarjveladze.
"I don't want to increase the number of people who ask the question: Is it a European value to demand the release of a person who has committed crimes? Is it a European value to show support to a person who we all know has committed them? This can bring serious danger to Georgia," says Mikheil Sarjveladze.
The Speaker of the Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, responded to the call of the European Parliament with an extensive statement. The time has come for the European Union to officially separate itself from the defamatory statements of the European parliamentarians, he said.
One year ago, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Georgian authorities, including President Salome Zourabichvili, to release Saakashvili. Zurabishvili refrains from commenting on the issue of pardon and states that it is not a decision "that can be influenced in any way by external or internal pressure."
The third president of Georgia, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1, 2021, has been placed in the Medical Center Vivamedi, a contractor of the Special Penitentiary Service, since May 12, 2022, due to his deteriorating health. He has been sentenced to 6 years for the amnesty of those convicted in the case of beating MP Valeri Gelashvili and murder of Sandro Girgvliani. Mikheil Saakashvili is also accused of illegally crossing the border, raiding the Imedi television company, participating in the November 7 protest rally, illegally taking possession of Patarkatsishvili's property, and embezzling 9 024 367 GEL belonging to the special state protection service - the so-called jackets cases. The third president does not admit guilt and says that he is politically persecuted, a prisoner of Putin.
