Supporters free ex
Mikheil Saakashvili
Ukrainian Security Service officers detain  Mikheil Saakashvili  at  his  house in Kiev  Ukraine  Tuesday  Dec. 5  2017. Ukraineâs intelligence agency on Tuesday detained the former president of Georgia who has emerged as an anti-corruption campaigner in his new country but faced an angry backlash of protesters who would not let the officers to take him away. (Evgeniy Maloletka/Associated Press)
MOSCOW â Hundreds of protesters chanting âKiev  rise up!â blocked Ukrainian police as they tried to arrest  former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili  on Tuesday.  He  later escaped with help from supporters and led them on a march toward parliament  where they planned to call for President Petro Poroshenko to resign.
The detention of  Saakashvili   now an anti-corruption crusader in  his  adopted home and arguably the countryâs most popular opposition politician  has raised fears that Ukraine could be facing its most acute political crisis since the 2014 revolution. Ukrainian prosecutors accuse him of colluding with Ukrainian businessmen who have ties to Russian intelligence as part of an effort to topple  the president .
 Saakashvili  poses a threat to Poroshenko  who appointed  him  as governor of Ukraineâs Odessa region before the two had a falling out.  Saakashvili  resigned in 2016  complaining that  his  efforts to root out corruption were being obstructed by officials.
When the SBU  Ukraineâs Security Service  went to detain  Saakashvili  at his home in Kiev on Tuesday  he climbed onto the roof and reportedly threatened to jump off. SBU officers went after him  detained him and led him to a waiting van.
After  Saakashvili  escaped  he told his supporters that he would âlay down his life for the freedom of Ukraineâ and called on them to follow him to the Supreme Rada. He also called on Ukrainians to rally on Kievâs main square  the epicenter of protests in 2013 and 2014  to demand Poroshenkoâs resignation.
Footage showed  Saakashvili  with the yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag around  his  neck marching in central Kiev  surrounded by crowds.
 He  was Georgiaâs president for nearly a decade before  he  was prevented from running again by term limits.  He  left the country in 2013.
Poroshenko revoked Saakashviliâs Ukrainian citizenship in July.  Saakashvili  forced  his  way across Ukraineâs border with Poland earlier this year  with help from protesters.
 Saakashvili âs stand-off with Poroshenko ignited long-simmering popular discontent with the slow pace of reforms the latter has promised.
The Security Service said in a statement that  Saakashvili  is facing a criminal investigation for âassisting members of criminal organizations or hiding their criminal activities.â
 Saakashvili  spearheaded several protests in Kiev  but they typically drew fewer than 4 000 people. At one of the rallies   Saakashvili  called on Poroshenko to resign.
âAll the rallies were financed by foreign oligarchs that aimed to seize power by illegal means â Lutsenko said. The prosecutors plan to ask the court to place  Saakashvili  under house arrest  he said.
Ukrainian Security Service officers detain   [TGT] at   [TGT]   house in Kiev  Ukraine  Tuesday  Dec. 5  2017. Ukraineâs intelligence agency on Tuesday detained the former president of Georgia who has emerged as an anti-corruption campaigner in his new country but faced an angry backlash of protesters who would not let the officers to take him away. (Evgeniy Maloletka/Associated Press)
MOSCOW â Hundreds of protesters chanting âKiev  rise up!â blocked Ukrainian police as they tried to arrest   [TGT] on Tuesday.   [TGT]   later escaped with help from supporters and led them on a march toward parliament  where they planned to call for President Petro Poroshenko to resign.
The detention of  Saakashvili   now an anti-corruption crusader in  his  adopted home and arguably the countryâs most popular opposition politician  has raised fears that Ukraine could be facing its most acute political crisis since the 2014 revolution. Ukrainian prosecutors accuse him of colluding with Ukrainian businessmen who have ties to Russian intelligence as part of an effort to topple  the president .
  [TGT] poses a threat to Poroshenko  who appointed  him  as governor of Ukraineâs Odessa region before the two had a falling out.   [TGT] resigned in 2016  complaining that   [TGT]   efforts to root out corruption were being obstructed by officials.
When the SBU  Ukraineâs Security Service  went to detain  Saakashvili  at his home in Kiev on Tuesday  he climbed onto the roof and reportedly threatened to jump off. SBU officers went after him  detained him and led him to a waiting van.
After   [TGT] escaped  he told his supporters that he would âlay down his life for the freedom of Ukraineâ and called on them to follow him to the Supreme Rada. He also called on Ukrainians to rally on Kievâs main square  the epicenter of protests in 2013 and 2014  to demand Poroshenkoâs resignation.
Footage showed   [TGT] with the yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag around  his  neck marching in central Kiev  surrounded by crowds.
 He  was Georgiaâs president for nearly a decade before  he  was prevented from running again by term limits.  He  left the country in 2013.
Poroshenko revoked Saakashviliâs Ukrainian citizenship in July.   [TGT] forced   [TGT]   way across Ukraineâs border with Poland earlier this year  with help from protesters.
 Saakashvili âs stand-off with Poroshenko ignited long-simmering popular discontent with the slow pace of reforms the latter has promised.
The Security Service said in a statement that   [TGT] is facing a criminal investigation for âassisting members of criminal organizations or hiding their criminal activities.â
  [TGT] spearheaded several protests in Kiev  but they typically drew fewer than 4 000 people. At one of the rallies    [TGT] called on Poroshenko to resign.
âAll the rallies were financed by foreign oligarchs that aimed to seize power by illegal means â Lutsenko said. The prosecutors plan to ask the court to place   [TGT] under house arrest  he said.