The largest opposition party in Georgia has started collecting signatures under an appeal to President Salome Zurabishvili demanding the release of Mikheil Saakashvili from prison, UNN reports with reference to Novosti Georgia.
"Starting today, hundreds of thousands of supporters of the National Movement and Mikheil Saakashvili are starting to collect signatures all over Georgia. I call on the Georgian people to join in, because today each of us creates an opportunity to take real steps to free Mikheil Saakashvili," UNM member and Saakashvili's representative Sopo Japaridze said at a briefing on Friday.
The campaign started in Saakashvili's presidential library in Tbilisi. Since the morning, there has been a steady stream of people willing to sign the appeal.
According to Japaridze, the collection of signatures will last for two weeks throughout Georgia. District organizations of the party will be involved in the process.
On March 1, Saakashvili's supporters plan to deliver the appeal to Zurabishvili.
Recall
The third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has been imprisoned since October 1, 2021. He secretly arrived in the country from Ukraine and was arrested in two cases of abuse of office, which were decided in absentia. Due to a sharp deterioration in his health due to a prolonged hunger strike, Saakashvili was transferred from prison to the Vivamed clinic on May 12, 2022, where he remains today.