Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has reiterated her previous claims that she will not pardon arrested ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.
"My position about pardoning ex-president unchanged and unwavering – no and never," Zurabishvili said at a special news briefing.
The Georgian President said Saakashvili, who was arrested a day before the October 2 municipal elections in Tbilisi, ‘does not comply with any criteria of a political prisoner or of an innocent victim'.
"He is a convict, who entered the country voluntarily and illegally, aimed to cause destabilisation. Nevertheless, considering high public and political interest, he should be treated as a special prisoner," Zurabishvili said.
She said all the measures should be taken to ensure that his deterioration of health not be used for political speculations or destabilisation. This, President Zurabishvili said, requires “as much transparency and timely response as possible’ in case of Saakashvili’s deterioration of health, Agenda.ge reported.
Earlier the Special Penitentiary Service has announced that Saakashvili’s health remains stable and he is under the constant supervision of health professionals.
