Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson penned a Christmas message for jailed Mikheil Saakashvili, who was the President of post-Soviet Georgia three times.
The Georgian politician counts several Western leaders among his supporters thanks to the work he has done to bring his country closer to Europe and NATO allies. In turn, he is seen as an enemy of Russia and President Vladimir Putin.
In his letter, Mr Johnson addressed Mr Saakashvili with the nickname he is known as in Georgia. The message read: “Dear Misha, this Christmas we remember your courage and vision in building a free Georgia, and we wish you luck with the next chapter in your people’s extraordinary success.”
The former Conservative leader signed off the card by writing, “Sakartvelos Gaumarjos!”, which means “Victory to Georgia”.
The letter was accompanied by a very cheerful photograph showing Mr Johnson dressed as Santa and giving a thumb up to the camera while climbing a Christmas tree.
In the picture, one of Mr Johnson’s children also makes a rare appearance, seen from behind while it looks up at his father.
Mr Johnson is one of the many Western personalities who continue to support Mr Saakashvili, who in 2003 led the bloodless Rose Revolution against the then President of Georgia – a politician close to the Kremlin accused of rigging that year’s elections – Eduard Shevardnadze.
In 2005, Mr Saakashvili was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Hillary Clinton.
Three years later, however, he made a major enemy out of Russia during the Russo-Georgian War, which left the state of Georgia maimed of one-fifth of its territory.
The Georgian leader, who said Putin once threatened to “hang me by the b***s”, left his country for the US in 2014, and remained outside Georgia until 2021. When he returned, he was arrested.
Now, Mr Saakashvili is serving a six-year prison sentence on charges of abuse of power and organisation of an assault occasioning grievous bodily harm against a member of the opposition.
His supporters have claimed these are bogus and politically motivated charges, issued in the wake of the rise to power of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party.
Petre Tsiskarishvili, the General Secretary of the United National Movement party founded by Mr Saakashvili, said: “One of the more troubling aspects of the Georgian Dream’s time in government has been the weaponisation of the criminal court system for the purposes of settling political scores. Saakashvili’s imprisonment, in particular, threatens to damage our standing on the global stage.”
The Georgian politician, who describes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as his friend and supported Ukraine after the first Russian invasion in 2014, also claimed in an article penned for Politico he is being “systematically tortured, physically and psychologically”.
In 2022, Mr Saakashvili also claimed to have been poisoned by heavy metals while he was in custody, an allegation reinforced by a report by US-based toxicologist David Smith who found heavy metals in the politician’s tests. Mr Saakashvili previously said to believe the poisoning had been carried out by Russian agents.
In his Politico op-ed, he also wrote he is now dying, adding: “I now suffer from a bewildering array of over 20 serious illnesses, all of which developed in confinement.”
Mr Saakashvili’s former Defence Minister David Kezerashvili said: “Western leaders risk handing Vladimir Putin a spectacular victory if they don’t act swiftly to end this unwarranted detention.”
