Former President of Georgia Saakashvili Challenges Ukrainian Expulsion – BSQ Instructed

BSQ partner Roger Sahota is part of the legal team advising the former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli on an appeal against his expulsion from Ukraine. 

Mr Saakashvili first came to international attention when he led the “Rose Revolution” in his native Georgia against a particularly corrupt post-communist but nonetheless authoritarian government. Under his presidency the country made great improvements in reducing corruption and abusive behaviour by police and state officials. 

On 26th July 2017, his citizenship was arbitrarily revoked by Presidential Decree in Ukraine , leaving him stateless. He went to Poland but returned to Ukraine in the autumn to lead his registered political party there. Although the government said he was the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation, on February 12th 2018 he was forcibly detained and expelled to Warsaw, and has been denied re-entry to the country of which he was a permanent resident and leader of a political party.

BSQ is part of a legal team including Geoffrey Robertson QC of Doughty Street Chambers advising Mr Saakashvili on human rights challenges to his removal from Ukraine.