“Saakashvili is an ordinary murderer and the main creator of a murderous regime. Therefore, such statements are very unserious coming from anyone, especially from Eka Gigauri, who is simply an agent of the United National Movement. Saakashvili is not a political prisoner,” Georgian Dream MP Levan Machavariani said in response to a statement by Transparency International Georgia regarding the inclusion of Mikheil Saakashvili on its list of political prisoners.

According to Levan Machavariani, Mikheil Saakashvili’s name is being added to the list because “they felt bullied by Saakashvili.”

“It is very good that the ‘UNM people’ are bullying each other. We remember that the NGOs did not include Saakashvili on the list of political prisoners in the past, because they at least realized that such a level of audacity was no longer possible, since there may be only 20–30 people in Georgia who believe them in total. In this case, apparently, the bullying worked, and they began describing cases as political persecution - everyone knows the case involving Saakashvili’s embezzled funds, which they then packaged as the ‘jackets case’ to simplify the issue. We are talking about GEL 9 million; I do not think jackets cost GEL 9 million.

In general, Saakashvili is an ordinary murderer and the main creator of a murderous regime, the person who stood at its forefront. Therefore, such statements are very unserious coming from anyone, especially from Eka Gigauri, who is simply an agent and an ordinary representative of the United National Movement. On the one hand, it is shameful when a country refers to agents like Gigauri as representatives in its own country, as if they should speak on behalf of Georgia, and it is very unfortunate that France has found itself in this role in this case.

Saakashvili is not a political prisoner. The only time in my life [in the past] when I agreed with these wealthy NGOs on anything was when they said that Saakashvili was not a political prisoner. Then they felt bullied by Saakashvili and, accordingly, the ‘UNM people’ could not withstand the pressure among themselves, and that is presumably why they included him,” Machavariani said.

The non-governmental organization Transparency International Georgia stated that former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s name would be included on the political prisoners list compiled by the organization. According to Transparency International, in July 2026, Saakashvili’s lawyer contacted the organization and provided materials concerning specific cases for examination, including the so-called Jackets Case, the border-crossing case, and materials related to the Imedi TV case.

According to Transparency International Georgia’s conclusion, the verdict against former President Mikheil Saakashvili in the so-called Jackets Case was unsubstantiated and unjust, while the proceedings against him in the ongoing cases are politically motivated. The NGO stated that, under the five criteria for defining a political prisoner set out in Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Resolution 1900 (2012), Mikheil Saakashvili meets four.

According to the organization, in light of the fundamental principles governing criminal liability and the imposition of punishment, the nine-year prison sentence imposed on Mikheil Saakashvili in the so-called Jackets Case is fundamentally unjust and violates the principle of proportionality.