“New parties are emerging today like mushrooms, saying, ‘First we have to get rid of Misha, and then Ivanishvili.’ Friends, now is not the time to fight or settle scores with one another. Let’s stand together, get rid of these people first, and then maybe I’ll part ways with you, and after that, you can go to hell,” former President Mikheil Saakashvili said during a court hearing.

He called on the court to “finish the November 7 case.”

“I want to tell the members of the court that this process has been going on for so many years that we have all grown old together. In the meantime, I had a son, who started school today; I had a grandchild, and many things have changed in my life. Things have changed for you too - either your hair has fallen out or something else - and yet we have continued these proceedings for many years.

I want to address Ivanishvili, who satisfies his sadistic urge toward me through this case. Bidzina, you made your money, established yourself as a dictator in the world, you also had grandchildren and became a grandfather - isn’t it time to end this circus?

The case for which you are putting me on trial was prepared by an ‘FSB agent,’ Otar Fartskhaladze-Romanov. The fact alone that my case was prepared by an FSB agent and then signed by his subordinate would be enough for the case to be dismissed under normal circumstances. But we are not in a normal situation,” Saakashvili said.

Saakashvili also commented on the detention of Giorgi Baramidze.

“Gia Baramidze has been sent to prison for treason against the homeland. There is no bigger joke than this. This man spits in our faces and humiliates us, and we are supposed to sit here? ‘The gentle nightingale is imprisoned in a cage’ - Paata Burchuladze. In the morning, at 6 o’clock, crows gather outside, and at exactly 6 o’clock Paata Burchuladze listens to the crows cawing.

They tell us that peace is the most important thing, and who would argue with that? Peace is essential for the Georgian people. But if we accept corruption, crime, and so on, apparently that is what peace means. This is an unimaginable mockery of the Georgian people. Never, never, never! Georgia has never been the property of one person...

Yesterday I heard on television, ‘Be proud of our national product, juice.’ What juice, people?! This is what they want - ‘satisfy yourselves with the innovation of juice and fruit leather, be proud of your elarji,’” Saakashvili said.

Saakashvili also spoke about former Defense Minister Irakli Alasania. According to him, the goal is peace, but not peace at the cost of dignity and “apologies.”

“We are not going to expel anyone from Abkhazia. We intend to return peacefully. The Georgian people really dislike traitors, so we all need to unite. Fighting ‘by the way’ will not work.

Since 2012, Ivanishvili has been trying to destroy the United National Movement, and sometimes he succeeds with money and ... Today, new parties are emerging like mushrooms, saying, ‘First we have to get rid of Misha, and then Ivanishvili.’ Friends, now is not the time to fight or settle scores with one another. Let’s stand together, get rid of these people first, and then maybe I’ll part ways with you, and after that, you can go to hell.

In 2012, the prison was broken from the inside, and I do not absolve myself of responsibility for that. I should have acted differently, but some people were bought off and helped Bidzina come to power,” Saakashvili said.