Thousands are demanding the release of Saakashvili at a rally in Tbilisi

According to an AFP correspondent, a rally in the capital’s Freedom Square and Rustaveli Avenue gathered around 50,000 people.

Many Georgian flags were displayed in the crowd, and participants in the rally expressed support for the former president, calling “Mass”, a variant of Saakashvili’s name.

Saakashvili’s lawyer Nick Guarami delivered a speech calling for an end to the government associated with Saakashvili’s main rival, the influential businessman Bidzin Ivanishvili.

“Georgia must return to its pro-Western path and become a beacon for democracy, reform and development,” the letter said. “It is time to save Georgia with national unity and reconciliation.”

Supporters from Tbilisi came from all over the country on Thursday.

Prior to the start of the protest, special police units were deployed near the parliament building.

Saakashvili has called on supporters to mobilize against Ivanishvili, who once formed Georgia’s ruling party, the Georgia Dream, and is considered the country’s main decision-maker.

Saakashvili left Georgia in 2013, when his second term as president ended. In recent years, he has lived in Ukraine, where he has held various high-ranking positions and currently chairs the Ukraine Reform Executive Committee.

Saakashvili returned to Georgia on October 1 on the eve of the municipal elections and was detained.

He is in Rustavi City Prison.

In 2018, Saakashvili was convicted in absentia of abuse of office and sentenced to six years in prison. Saakashvili, a 53-year-old Ukrainian citizen, himself dismissed the allegations as politically motivated and went on hunger strike after his arrest.

He is now also the subject of criminal proceedings for illegal crossing of the state border.