The Messenger
January 6, 2023
The former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul published an extensive opinion letter about Mikheil Saakashvili in the Washington Post and called on President Joe Biden, together with European democratic leaders, to immediately come out with a call to save Mikheil Saakashvili.
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McFaul believes that President Biden and other leaders, based on humanitarian considerations, should call on Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili to pardon Mikheil Saakashvili and give him the opportunity to travel abroad for medical treatment.
McFaul also mentioned the resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in October 2022, which talks about the necessity to release the political prisoner Saakashvili.
“President Biden, in close coordination with other democratic leaders in Europe, must make an urgent appeal to save Saakashvili. On humanitarian grounds, Biden and others must urge Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili to grant Saakashvili a pardon…a measure already demanded by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which has also declared Saakashvili a political prisoner.” he wrote.
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“Saakashvili’s death in jail would be a victory for Putin and a blow to Georgian democracy. No one understands this better than Zelensky, who last month appealed to the Georgian authorities to ‘show mercy’ by releasing the ex-president.”
“Zelensky was right to do so. The United States and the European Union should follow suit. The free world has stood together in defense of democracy in Ukraine. They should do the same in Georgia by pressing for Saakashvili’s release,” McFaul wrote.
Anti-bellum 
He should be traded for many political prisoners of the West including Julian Assange.
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Good call.
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