Ukrainians protest against president's decision to strip Saakashvili of citizenship

Record ID: 904341

  • Title: Ukrainians protest against president's decision to strip Saakashvili of citizenship
  • Date: 27th July 2017
  • Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (JULY 27, 2017) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS PROFANITY*** SUPPORTERS OF FORMER GEORGIAN PRESIDENT AND UKRAINIAN POLITICIAN, MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, IN SQUARE HOLDING UKRAINIAN FLAGS WOMAN HOLDING POSTER READING (Ukrainian): 'MIKHEIL IS UKRAINIAN' SUPPORTERS WITH UKRAINIAN FLAGS ON STAIRS SUPPORTERS CHANTING (Ukrainian): 'DISGRACE' MAN HOLDING UKRAINIAN PASSPORT AND CONSTITUTION OF UKRAINE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) MEMBER OF SAAKASHVILI'S PARTY 'MOVEMENT OF NEW FORCES,' VOLODYMYR GAVRYSH, SAYING: "It's not a political event, it's people's reaction to yesterday's situation when Mikheil Saakashvili's was deprived of (Ukrainian) citizenship. Many people are indignant, indignant at this outrage, at failure to follow the legislation and the constitution of Ukraine." WOMEN HOLDING POSTER READING (Ukrainian): "CORRUPTION WITHOUT BORDERS" SUPPORTERS RALLYING SUPPORTERS WRAPPED IN UKRAINIAN FLAGS HOLDING PASSPORTS AND CONSTITUTION (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) SAAKASHVILI'S LAWYER, PAVLO BOGOMAZOV, SAYING: "At the moment, we are worried the most that when Mikheil Nikolayevich comes back, they (authorities) may withdraw his passport and arrest him immediately. We don't know how far authorities will go, but we are ready for all possible (scenarios)." MAN HOLDING PASSPORT (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SAAKASHVILI'S SUPPORTER FROM CRIMEA, IRYNA DOBROSERDOVA, SAYING: "This event is an absurd indeed. We did not expect such mean actions from our guarantor. Poroshenko sees real force and resistance in Saakashvili because Saakashvili is a man of word and a fair man and we trust him. My personal opinion is that Saakashvili can bring European future to our country and our citizens, those who live in Ukraine. And we do not see such actions from Poroshenko until now." MAN HOLDING POSTER READING (Ukrainian): "PETRO, IT'S OVERKILL" (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SAAKASHVILI'S SUPPORTER FROM UKRAINE'S CENTER, STANISLAV LUZHANSKY, SAYING: "As it was said here, it's a president who does not know what he is doing. And we will stand for interests of all people because this is how it starts. If he deprives one person of citizenship, he will be able to deprive another person of it. We are against it and we will stand for Mikheil Saakashvili to be a Ukrainian citizen just like he stands for Ukraine's interests not only in Ukraine, but also abroad." SUPPORTERS RALLYING WITH FLAGS IN SQUARE UKRAINIAN FLAGS WAVING VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS TRYING TO PUSH BACK POLICE AND BREAK THROUGH FENCE NEAR PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION PROTESTERS DISMANTLING FENCE AND MOVING IT AWAY GROUP OF ACTIVISTS PASSING BY POLICE SUPPORTERS RALLYING
  • Embargoed: 10th August 2017 15:23
  • Keywords: Ukraine citizenship protest Mikheil Saakashvili Petro Poroshenko Odessa Georgia
  • Location: KIEV, UKRAINE
  • City: KIEV, UKRAINE
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016RHU721
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE: EDIT CONTAINS PROFANITY IN SHOT 17.
    Several hundred Ukrainians led by Mikheil Saakashvili's lawyers and colleagues gathered on Thursday (July 27) in the centre of Kiev to protest against the authorities' decision to strip him of his Ukrainian citizenship.
    Ex-Georgian president said he would fight Kiev's decision, saying it was an attempt to stifle political opposition that betrayed the aims of Ukraine's 2013-14 pro-European uprising.
    Saakashvili had been building a new political career in Ukraine after President Petro Poroshenko appointed him as governor of the Odessa region in 2015. But relations between the two men soured and Saakashvili resigned last November, citing opposition to reform, and set up a new political party.
    Poroshenko stripped Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship on Wednesday (July 26) for allegedly providing false information on his citizenship registration form in 2015.
    In a video posted on Facebook overnight, however, Saakashvili said the decision was politically motivated.
    Saakashvili is currently in the United States and the withdrawal of his Ukrainian citizenship has left him stateless. He lost his Georgian citizenship in 2015 after becoming a Ukrainian national.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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