Justice Ministry: ECHR strikes Saakashvili’s application off its cases

The European Court of Human Rights has decided to strike the application of Georgia’s imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili regarding on his treatment by the country’s penitentiary system off its list of cases, Deputy Justice Minister Beka Dzamashvili said on Friday.

Dzamashvili said the European Court had found there were no “special circumstances” in the application relating to respect for human rights, which would have required the body to continue the examination of the case.

The decision of the European Court has once again confirmed that the rights and interests of Mikheil Saakashvili were fully protected in the penitentiary system in accordance with the standards of the Strasbourg court,” the Justice Ministry official said.

In his application, Saakashvili argued he was ill-treated in the Georgian penitentiary system since his imprisonment last year.

The former president was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 and charged with illegally crossing the state border in his clandestine return to the country ahead of the 2020 municipal elections.

Saakashvili had been found guilty of abuse of power in two cases in absentia in 2018 and faces additional charges including illegal seizure of property, embezzlement and illegal rally dispersal.