“There was direct pressure claiming that Saakashvili was dying and would die within a few days if we did not hand him over to representatives of the European Union. We saw that not only did nothing happen to him, but he subsequently had a child and, judging by those who follow the court proceedings, he looks very healthy,” Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said, responding to Transparency International Georgia’s statement concerning the inclusion of Mikheil Saakashvili on its list of political prisoners.

Papuashvili said he believes Saakashvili’s inclusion on the list is intended to secure his release from prison. He also said that those financing Transparency International Georgia would be identified, along with what he described as the “driving force behind the hostile campaign against Georgia.”

“The person compiling this list, Eka Gigauri, is a very minor figure in this story. What is important is who is financing it; this must be established. Transparency International Georgia is hiding its funding. We know that they are registered in Estonia and are under the control of the Estonian authorities. I do not know whether Estonia is funding them or which state is providing the funding, but I think it is now essential to establish who is financing this group, because once we identify the financier, we will understand who is behind the hostile campaign against Georgia.

“There is an assumption that intelligence services are operating behind this, seeking to secure the release of Mikheil Saakashvili, whom they consider their agent, from prison. They have been trying to do this for five years through various means. You may remember that the Polish government even sent a doctor to Mikheil Saakashvili on a special mission, who was supposed to smuggle something out in a sock. He was arrested, and the Polish government was completely discredited for having done such a thing.

“We saw a false démarche by the European Union toward the Justice Minister, when direct pressure was exerted on the minister, claiming that Saakashvili was dying, that it was a matter of days and that he would die within a few days unless we handed him over to EU representatives, and that if he died, Georgia would become an outcast in the eyes of everyone. We saw that not only did nothing happen to him, but he subsequently had a child and, judging by those who follow the court proceedings, he looks very healthy.

“This is the kind of people we are dealing with. Of course, this is also part of the campaign to secure the release of the dictator, their own agent, from prison. Eka Gigauri has now been given this task. She is simply a pawn in all of this, carrying out the instructions of foreign funders. Therefore, it is now important to establish who is financing her. We will identify the financier and the driving force and author behind the hostile campaign against Georgia,” Papuashvili said.

For reference, Transparency International Georgia said that the name of former President Mikheil Saakashvili would be included in the political prisoners list compiled by the organization. According to the NGO, in July 2026, Saakashvili’s lawyer contacted the organization and provided materials concerning several cases for review, including the so-called “jackets” case, the border-crossing case and the case involving Imedi TV.

According to Transparency International Georgia’s assessment, the conviction against former President Mikheil Saakashvili in the so-called “jackets” case is unfounded and unjust, while the ongoing proceedings against him are politically motivated. The organization said Saakashvili meets four of the five criteria for political prisoners set out in Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Resolution 1900 (2012).

The organization further stated that, based on fundamental principles governing criminal liability and sentencing, Saakashvili’s nine-year prison sentence in the so-called “jackets” case is substantively unjust and contrary to the principle of proportionality.