David Arakhamia Official Urges Investigation into Alleged Premeditated Murder of Saakashvili and Calls for His Pardon
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
David Arakhamia, the chairman of the "Servant of the People" faction in the Ukrainian Rada, expressed concerns about Mikheil Saakashvili's safety and called for an investigation into the possibility of premeditated murder.
"I appeal to the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine to initiate an investigation into the case of premeditated murder. If anything happens to Saakashvili, it will be considered murder," stated Arakhamia during a forum in support of the former Georgian president.
Arakhamia emphasized the importance of the Verkhovna Rada's resolution being adopted by multiple European parliaments to exert pressure on Georgian authorities for necessary actions.
"We have already adopted a resolution in the Verkhovna Rada, and now we need to work tirelessly to ensure as many European parliaments as possible adopt a similar resolution. If ten European countries pass such resolutions, the Georgian authorities will have no other option. A country aspiring to join the EU cannot disregard the decisions of EU member state parliaments. I believe this strategy will be effective. My hope is to see a fully recovered Mikheil Saakashvili on this stage," said David Arakhamia.
Arakhamia emphasized the vitality for Mikheil Saakashvili to be pardoned by the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, following the recent pardon of Nika Gvaramia. He stated that the President of Georgia is actively seeking to influence society and the international arena, demonstrating aspirations to play a role in international politics.
"The President of Georgia is seeking to exert influence over society and the international arena, displaying a clear aspiration to become a participant in global politics. She has expressed a desire to be recognized as a significant player in the West. The recent pardon of Nika Gvaramia brought us extremely positive news. Now, we must move on to the next stage: the pardon of Mikheil Saakashvili. In Georgia, there are concerns that Saakashvili's release would enable him to become an influential figure in Georgian politics, particularly with the upcoming parliamentary elections in the autumn. It is believed that his release could result in him becoming a leader before the elections. However, during informal discussions, we have repeatedly emphasized that the current conversation is not centered around politics. Instead, it is about the urgent mission of saving a human life. Saakashvili is a citizen of Ukraine, and he is currently suffering in prison. If any harm befalls him, the blame would lie entirely on the Georgian authorities. They are well aware of this fact, which is why they granted European doctors permission to examine Saakashvili," Arakhamia stated.
