UNM’s Bokuchava: Saakashvili’s transfer is part of Putin’s ‘counter-revolution’ against Rose Revolution

Chair of the opposition United National Movement party, Tina Bokuchava, on Wednesday described the transfer of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili from the Vivamedi Tbilisi clinic back to prison as a politically motivated act aimed at “destroying the symbol of the Rose Revolution”, calling it “Putin’s order”.

“This is the main goal of the counter-revolution against the Rose Revolution - to destroy its symbol. This is Putin’s order, which he has publicly voiced: to brutally punish the supreme commander who dared to resist him to save the Georgian state”, Bokuchava wrote on social media.

She said Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Government had continuously targeted Saakashvili as part of its “dictatorial consolidation”, filing new charges against him over the years.

“Saakashvili has practically been sentenced to life imprisonment. The only thing left for the regime was to tighten his detention conditions, or, in Putin’s style, lead him directly to death”, she said.

She also criticised some Georgian politicians and commentators who, she said, continue to condemn Saakashvili instead of recognising his role in building Georgia’s modern statehood. Bokuchava added that because of their resentment toward Saakashvili, the country had lost not only the chance for a European future but also its sovereignty and independence.

Georgia’s Special Penitentiary Service on Wednesday said Saakashvili was transferred from the Vivamedi clinic back to Penitentiary Facility No. 12 after doctors determined his health condition was satisfactory.