Supporters of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili hold old Ukrainian flags as they gathered to march in protest of corruption in Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017. From his jail cell in Ukraine's capital, opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili is calling on supporters to rally for the impeachment of the president. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The Associated Press
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Several thousand supporters of opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili are rallying in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev to demand his release from jail.
Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia turned opposition leader in Ukraine, was arrested Friday on accusations of colluding with Ukrainian businessmen tied to Russia to topple President Petro Poroshenko.
Saakashvili rejected the allegations and his lawyer said he was refusing food to protest his detention.
Saakashvili's supporters marched Sunday across downtown Kiev, demanding his release from custody and calling for Poroshenko's ouster. The demonstration was peaceful and police didn't intervene.
Saakashvili, the former governor of Ukraine's Odessa region who was stripped of his citizenship this summer, faces the prospect of being sent back to his native Georgia, which has sought him on abuse of office charges.
Supporters of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili carry a poster reads 'freedom to Saakashvili' and old Ukrainian flags as they march in protest of corruption in Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017. From his jail cell in Ukraine's capital, opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili is calling on supporters to rally for the impeachment of the president. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The Associated Press
Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili's wife Sandra Roelofs, center, and other supporters march in protest of corruption in Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017. From his jail cell in Ukraine's capital, opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili is calling on supporters to rally for the impeachment of the president. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The Associated Press
Supporters of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili carry a banner reading 'Impeachment' as they march in protest of corruption in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017. From his jail cell in Ukraine's capital, opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili is calling on supporters to rally for the impeachment of the president. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
The Associated Press
Supporters of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili carry a Ukrainian, left, and Georgian national flags as they march in protest of corruption in Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017. From his jail cell in Ukraine's capital, opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili is calling on supporters to rally for the impeachment of the president. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
The Associated Press
Supporters of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili shout anti-government slogans as they march in protest of corruption in Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017. From his jail cell in Ukraine's capital, opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili is calling on supporters to rally for the impeachment of the president. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
The Associated Press
Ukrainian riot police stand ready as supporters of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili protest in Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017. From his jail cell in Ukraine's capital, opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili is calling on supporters to rally for the impeachment of the president. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
The Associated Press
Supporters of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili set a portrait of him on a tree as they gather outside the police station where he was taken in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. From his jail cell in Ukraine's capital, opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili is calling on supporters to rally for the impeachment of the president and has declared a hunger strike. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
The Associated Press