(21 Dec 2021) Thousands of opposition supporters gathered in front of the Parliament building in central Tbilisi on Tuesday evening, demanding the release of imprisoned ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.
Addressing the crowds, opposition leader Khatia Dekanoidze said that "bargaining with the freedom of people should stop" in Georgia.
Another opposition member Zaal Udumashvili vowed to hold permanent protests until their demands are met.
"Protests will not end until the third President (referring to Saakashvili) is released and the political persecution which is taking place against him for the past seven years, stops," Udumashvili said.
Tuesday's demonstration coincided with Saakashvili's birthday. Georgia's ex-President turned 54 on Tuesday.
Saakashvili was arrested upon returning to Georgia in October ahead of municipal elections.
The ex-leader left Georgia in 2013 following the end of his presidency due to term limits and later he was stripped of his citizenship and sentenced in absentia to six years in prison on abuse-of-power convictions.
Saakashvili says the charges are politically motivated.
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