Border Guard Service Exiles Saakashvili From Ukraine Until 2021 - Lawyer

18:48 GMT, 21 February 2018

KIEV (Sputnik) - The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service banned former Georgian President and ex-Governor of the Odessa region Mikheil Saakashvili from entering the country until 2021, Saakashvili's lawyer Ruslan Chernolutsky told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Sputnik

"[Saakashvili is] banned from entering [Ukraine] until 2021," Saakashvili's lawyer Ruslan Chernolutsky stated.

The lawyer pointed out that Saakashvili's legal defense considered the decision as illegal and was going to appeal it.

Supporters of Ukrainian Opposition Figure Saakashvili Rally in Lviv, Odessa

18 February 2018, 19:19 GMT

A Kiev court rejected on Monday the appeal of Ukrainian opposition figure and former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili against the decision of a lower court, which ruled against recognizing the Ukrainian migration service's refusal to grant the politician asylum illegal, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

"The court ruled to reject the appeal of Saakashvili's lawyer Ruslan Chernolutsky, while leaving the Kiev District Administrative Court's decision dated January 3 unchanged," the judge said.

Last week, Saakashvili was detained in Kiev by Ukraine's State Border Guard Service and deported to Poland, from which he illegally entered Ukraine in September.

In July, Saakashvili was peeled of his Ukrainian citizenship while he was visiting the United States after it was disclosed that he had provided incorrect information on his citizenship application. Despite that, he managed to cross the Polish-Ukrainian border in September.

Over the recent months, Saakashvili has been leading anti-government rallies in Kiev, calling for the impeachment of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as well as for the adoption of legislation to fight corruption in the country.