If I were president, I would postpone the verdict on Mikheil Saakashvili

Speaking in a program with Russian human rights activist Mark Feygin, Georgia's fourth president George Margvelashvili says that if he were the current president, he would delay the sentencing of Mikheil Saakashvili.

According to him, we are a society that killed the first president and divided us for decades.

"I prepared a letter that was signed by officials and politicians from virtually every previous government in Georgia. The message was that there was no need to get into legal issues and discuss which sentence should be appealed and which should not. the practice that I have used many times is the postponement of serving a sentence. This happens when there are special circumstances and detaining a person actually amounts to torture. Mikheil Saakashvili's situation is just such. Leaving him in prison means continuing his torture. Even if he violated all articles of the Criminal Code, the state still has no right to torture him.

Besides, we are the society that killed its first president, leaving this society divided for decades. If we do it again, it will be a disaster, not only in terms of changing the way other countries treat us, but also a disaster in self-esteem. I have a rule that I never criticize sitting presidents. However, I will say that if I were him I would not look into the crimes committed or not committed by Saakashvili and I would postpone his verdict," says Giorgi Margvelashvili.