Saakashvili's lawyers to appeal court decision upholding denial to grant him status of person in need of protection
KYIV. Jan 3 (Interfax) -The defense team for Mikheil Saakashvili, leader of the Movement of New Forces party and former Georgian president, intends to appeal the Kyiv District Administrative Court's ruling to uphold the decree issued by the Kyiv region branch of the Ukrainian State Migration Service that refused to recognize Saakashvili as a person in need of protection.
"Under the law, we have 30 days to lodge an appeal. And we will certainly do so within the next few days," Saakashvili's lawyer Ruslan Chornolutsky told Interfax.
The ruling issued by the court on Wednesday does not give any grounds to the Ukrainian authorities to extradite Saakashvili, the lawyer said in comments to reporters.
"As long as we appeal today's decision, Saakashvili will hold the status of a person appealing a court ruling. And this status allows him to stay in Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities cannot take actions to deport Saakashvili," he said.