Ukrainian opposition figure Saakashvili freed in Kiev

World
Europe

Ukrainian opposition politician Mikheil Saakashvili was freed from detention on Monday and accused the government in Kiev of corruption and “usurping power”, days after he was detained in dramatic clashes between police and supporters.

Prosecutors accuse the 49-year-old former Georgian president of assisting a criminal organization, charges he says were trumped up to undermine his campaign to unseat Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

On Monday, however, a Ukrainian judge turned down the prosecutors' request to place him under house arrest.

"The prosecutors' petition... is dismissed," Judge Larysa Tsokol told the court.

Supporters of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili attend a rally in central Kiev, Ukraine, December 10, 2017. /Reuters Photo

A crowd of several hundred supporters, who remained outside the courthouse throughout the eight-hour hearing, cheered the judge's decision.

Saakashvili entered Ukrainian politics after serving as president of Georgia for nine years.

A vocal champion of the uprising in Kiev that toppled the Viktor Yanukovych government in 2014 and turned Ukraine towards a pro-EU course, he was made regional governor by Poroshenko in 2015-2016, but later fell out with the Ukrainian leader.

A first attempt to arrest Saakashvili last week in Kiev failed when supporters swarmed the van where he was being held.

After he was finally detained, Saakashvili went on a hunger strike to protest the "false accusations" against him. He is under investigation for alleged cooperation with Russia-linked "criminal groups".

Supporters of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili hold a rally in central Kiev, Ukraine, December 10, 2017. /Reuters Photo

"The judge is good. She did everything correctly and in accordance with the law," Saakashvili said on Monday. "It means not everything is lost in Ukraine."

The case against him remains open.

Speaking after the ruling, Saakashvili also said he planned to continue his political work.

Together with other opposition politicians he will "prepare for a peaceful but very important and necessary change in leadership in Ukraine", he said.

The investigation against him provoked violent clashes between protesters and riot police last week, while on Sunday several thousand people attended a peaceful rally in central Kiev to support Saakashvili and call for Poroshenko's impeachment.

Saakashvili is also facing the threat of possible extradition to Georgia, where he is wanted on criminal charges.

6461km

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters