Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Monday that awarding former President Mikheil Saakashvili Norway's prize for promoting human rights was making a mockery of the Georgian people and insulting them
TBILISI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th March, 2023) Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Monday that awarding former President Mikheil Saakashvili Norway's prize for promoting human rights was making a mockery of the Georgian people and insulting them.
Last week, the Sjur Lindebrekke Award, which is named after a co-founder of Norway's conservative party, was bestowed on Saakashvili for his achievements in promoting human rights and democracy. Since the former president is imprisoned in Georgia, his family attended the award ceremony.
"It is a mockery of the Georgian people and an insult to them that Saakashvili, a well-known authoritarian and almost dictatorial former leader, who created a system that oppressed and killed (people), has been awarded a prize for promoting democracy and protecting human rights," the prime minister told reporters.
The former president was put in jail on October 1, 2021, shortly after returning from Ukraine to Georgia, where he was wanted on several charges, including abuse of power, stealing public money and ordering a crackdown on a peaceful rally. He is serving a six-year sentence. Saakashvili's doctors and supporters say that his health has deteriorated dramatically since he went on several hunger strikes during his detention. In November 2022, Saakashvili's attorney, Shalva Khachapuridze, said that a medical examination had detected a heavy metal and arsenic, in addition to mercury, in the ex-president's body.
Saakashvili was the pro-Western president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 2004 to 2013. He carried out massive reforms to root out the widespread corruption but also became known for his violent response to opposition protests. After the end of his last term, Saakashvili left the country for Ukraine, where he received citizenship, actively supported Euromaidan and served as the governor of the Odesa region.
