Georgia addresses Poland
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Monday,
Georgia’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office has addressed Poland to check how Georgia’s ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili legally travelled to Poland as he currently has no citizenship.
Since he was deprived of Ukrainian citizenship a week ago, Saakashvili, who remains charged for several crimes in Georgia, does not have any citizenship now and it is unknown what type of legal document he used to travel.
The Polish border service did not comment on what documents Saakashvili had while entering the territory of Poland.
“According to the Law on Border Services, the data on border control can only be handed over to relevant state agencies,” a representative of the Polish border service told RIA Novosti.
The former President of Georgia arrived in Poland on August 4 to attend the 73rd anniversary of the Warsaw rebellion, the Polish edition Telewizja Republika reported.
Saakashvili started his speech in Polish and then continued in English.
He talked about the cooperation between Georgia and Poland and the situation in Ukraine.
“I left the US with a Ukrainian passport and I arrived in Poland in the same manner, I passed the border proper control,” Saakashvili stated later in an interview with a Ukrainian TV channel.
He stressed he is going to leave Poland for other European countries.
"I am in Poland, but I am going to move to other European countries. I held meetings in Poland with lawmakers and other politicians. We talked about Ukraine, how to help Ukraine. I will return to Ukraine before the trial in order to protect my rights and appeal against the absolutely illegitimate order [about my citizenship]," he said.
He added he is going to protect the rights of ordinary Ukrainians.
"I must look into eyes of the judges, the members of the Commission on citizenship who took a decision on deprivation of my citizenship in several hours. At the same time, I will defend Ukraine's interests and strengthen Ukraine's support from Europe. This is not my fight, it's the fight of millions of Ukrainians,” he said.
Saakashvili, who served as Georgia’s third president from 2004-2007 and again from 2008-2013, is accused of the violent dispersal of anti-government mass protests on November 7, 2007; the unlawful raiding of the Imedi television company by riot police; and the illegal take-over of property owned by late media tycoon Badri (Arkadi) Patarkatsishvili.
In 2014 Saakashvili was officially charged in Georgia; however, at that time he was already in Ukraine.
If he returns to Georgia he will be detained.
Prior to his visit to Poland, Saakashvili was in the United States.
The former president is not wanted by Interpol.
