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.