On December 30, the Georgian Parliament declared that Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Parliament, stopped exercising his authority to let Members of Parliament meet Mikheil Saakashvili, the country's third president, who is now in prison. Without special authorization, MPs will no longer be allowed to enter the prison system.

"The Special Penitentiary Service's strengthening of security measures led to the Speaker's decision," the Parliament claimed. In a letter dated December 27, the Justice Minister reportedly informed the Speaker of the stricter rules and asked that the abovementioned scenario be considered in making a decision on the issuance of licenses to members of Parliament. Since October 3, 2021, the Speaker, according to Parliament, has permitted 228 visits by MPs to Saakashvili, which is more than enough to achieve the objectives of such trips. According to the legislative, the appeal of the members of the Parliament to be granted this right [to visit Saakashvili] has long gone beyond the scope of the purpose noted in the appeal, i.e., familiarization with the conditions in which the prisoner is serving his sentence and is being used for personal or business meetings with the prisoner.

Furthermore, according to the Parliament, since Saakashvili's attorneys and the Public Defender's Office had the opportunity to see him, the proper monitoring of the conditions under which Mikheil Saakashvili is serving his sentence has been entirely secured.

Notably, the Georgia Imprisonment Code specifies that the Justice Minister is responsible for defining the process for accessing a correctional institution with special authorization. The Chairperson of the Parliament may, by order, grant an MP the right to enter a penitentiary institution operating on Georgian territory without a special permit in response to a request from that MP, a relevant committee, or a temporary investigative commission, in accordance with the Georgian Parliament's rules of procedure.