Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili launched one of the most aggressive tirades yet by a senior Georgian Dream official against Ukraine’s leadership and Western partners, accusing President Volodymyr Zelensky, EU diplomats, and even Nobel laureates of spreading “false narratives” about the health and imprisonment of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
In a lengthy statement on Friday, Nov. 14, Papuashvili said Saakashvili had spent more than three years in a hospital rather than a prison due to “hysteria orchestrated by Brussels and its ambassador,” as well as pressure from Kyiv and other Western governments.
According to him, an EU ambassador – together with other diplomats – staged a “false demarche” at Georgia’s Ministry of Justice, supposedly demanding Saakashvili’s transfer abroad, which he said was an attempt to secure the ex-president’s release.
Papuashvili dismissed medical assessments, including reports by the Public Defender’s Office, which documented Saakashvili’s severe deterioration, calling them “fake conclusions” – including claims that the former president suffered from dementia.
He accused both Zelensky and Moldovan President Maia Sandu of “lying” about Saakashvili being tortured:
“Sandu and Zelensky – those applauded as leaders of EU integration – came out and spread lies. Neither they, nor Ambassador Herczyński, ever apologized.”
Papuashvili added that the European Court of Human Rights’ later decision not to mandate Saakashvili’s transfer abroad proved the claims of torture and abuse were “false narratives created in Brussels.”
Human-rights groups and Western officials have disputed Georgian Dream’s framing of that ruling.
The speaker also said that Brussels should reimburse Georgian taxpayers for Saakashvili’s medical expenses during the three years he spent in a clinic, arguing that “bureaucrats in Brussels” were responsible for the situation.
But his most inflammatory remarks targeted Ukraine:
“Saakashvili was brought here by the Ukrainian government. Today, you applaud President Zelensky – but he is the one who brought Saakashvili to Georgia to ruin this country. This is your Zelensky.”
Papuashvili then claimed that Ukrainian and Moldovan leaders, along with Western diplomats, sought to destabilize Georgia during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, allegedly aiming to drag Tbilisi into a confrontation with Moscow:
“There is a war going on and they were trying to somehow stir up the situation and cause Georgia to escalate with Russia, which would end in war. This required flexibility to get out of this situation, we did, and now everyone has to accept the false narrative that was imposed on the Georgian people,” Papuashvili said.
Late on Wednesday, Nov. 12, the Georgian Special Penitentiary Service announced that Saakashvili was transferred from the Vivamedi clinic back to prison after more than two years of treatment based on a medical evaluation confirming that Saakashvili’s condition was “satisfactory.”