TBILISI -- An emaciated Mikheil Saakashvili reiterated his innocence from a medical clinic as the former Georgian president took part in a trial via video link for the first time since February.
Saakashvili, whose state of health appears to have significantly deteriorated, also called on the Georgian government to let him "openly debate" with them so that "people can decide who is right and who is wrong."
"If need be, put an electronic bracelet on me...but do not prevent the Georgian people from making their own choice," Saakashvili said, stressing that he will continue his political activities if he is released.
Saakashvili also blamed parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili for his current physical state, lifting his shirt to show his extremely emaciated body.
The court appearance led Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to call for the immediate release of Saakashvili, who is also a Ukrainian citizen.
"I once again call on the Georgian authorities to hand over Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili to Ukraine for the necessary treatment and care. And I call on our partners to address, not ignore, this situation and save this person. No government in Europe has the right to execute people: Life is a basic European value," he said on hisTelegram channel.
"Today, I instructed the Foreign Ministry to summon the Georgian ambassador to Ukraine and express our strong protest and to ask him to leave Ukraine within 48 hours to hold consultations with his capital," Zelenskiy said.
It was not immediately clear if the comments meant that Zelenskiy was expelling the Georgian envoy.
Saakashvili, who was Georgia’s president from 2004 to 2013, is serving a six-year sentence for abuse of power, a charge that he and his supporters say was politically motivated.
He is currently on trial on separate charges of violently dispersing an antigovernment rally in November 2007 and illegal border crossing.
Family members and his lawyers have warned for months that Saakashvili’s health condition has been deteriorating even as he has been receiving medical treatment at a private clinic in Tbilisi since May last year.
Saakashvili's medical team has said his health has worsened since he went to prison in October 2021 and staged repeated hunger strikes to protest against his incarceration.
Saakashvili's legal team has also asserted that he was "poisoned" with heavy metals while in custody.
Since the 55-year-old politician’s arrest in 2021, several mass rallies were held by his supporters and opposition activists, demanding his immediate release.
The European Union has also expressed concerns over Saakashvili’s deteriorated health.