Tens of thousands rally in Georgia for jailed ex-leader Saakashvili

Tens of thousands of Georgians flooded onto the streets of the capital Tbilisi Thursday to demand the release of jailed ex-president and opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili.
Chanting Saakashvili's nickname "Misha!" and waving national flags, demonstrators filled the city's Freedom Square and main thoroughfare, Rustaveli Avenue, with an AFP correspondent estimating the crowd at around 60,000 people.
Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013, Saakashvili was arrested and imprisoned in early October upon his return from exile in Ukraine.
The 53-year-old founder of Georgia's main opposition force, the United National Movement (UNM), has declared a hunger strike and doctors have expressed concern over his deteriorating health.
The flamboyant pro-Western reformer was convicted in absentia on charges of abuse of office and sentenced to six years in prison in 2018. He denies wrongdoing.
Another protester, Gela Chkheidze, 53, said: "Saakashvili embodies Georgia's success as a democracy. We will not stop until we achieve his liberation."
On Thursday morning, kilometers-long motorcades carrying Saakashvili supporters headed to Tbilisi from across the country, the independent Pirveli TV station reported.
Busloads of riot police were deployed outside the parliament building ahead of the protest.
More than 70,000 people the day before signed a petition online demanding Saakashvili's release, a demand reiterated in fresh graffiti on buildings and pavements across the country.