Mikheil Saakashvili appeals to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to be included on list of civilian prisoners of war

Georgia’s jailed ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili has addressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, asking to be included on the list of civilian prisoners of war, according to a statement published on his official Facebook page.

“I am trying not to burden you with my requests, knowing how many responsibilities you already carry. I am deeply grateful for the unwavering support and attention I continue to receive from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada, your administration, and the Commissioner for Human Rights.

However, I am now compelled to appeal to you personally. Yesterday, I was transferred from the prison hospital—where I was being treated for severe poisoning—back to the prison under the supervision of the same personnel responsible for my poisoning.

My poisoning occurred in March 2022, after the start of the full-scale war, and was confirmed by both American and German laboratories. From the outset, Putin demanded retribution against me, while Medvedev and Lavrov repeatedly took pride in my imprisonment.

I was initially arrested under a completely fabricated case. The then Prime Minister of Georgia publicly admitted that my prosecution was connected to my activities in Ukraine. In the new criminal case recently opened against me, I am accused—along with others—of committing sabotage in favor of a “hostile foreign state.” The case materials even cite your statements and those of Mykhailo Podolyak. This means that the illegitimate Georgian government openly designates Ukraine as a hostile foreign state.

This is hardly surprising. Since the very beginning of Russia’s full-scale war, the Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili and his subordinates have clearly sided with Moscow. In this context, it is evident that my persecution and my fate are directly linked to the war.

I am a citizen of Ukraine and the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Reform Council, where I had the honour of working under your leadership. Therefore, I respectfully ask that you, as you did in 2019 when you restored my illegally revoked citizenship, take measures to include me—an illegally detained Ukrainian citizen and former head of the Odessa Regional State Administration—among the list of civilian prisoners of war, with all the corresponding legal protections.

I know that Ukrainians never abandon their own. I place my hope in you,” Saakashvili wrote.