Mother of Mikheil Saakashvili denies fmr. president accuses gov’t of poisoning
In her remarks, Alasania urged the public to refrain from “gaining political points” on his son’s “deteriorating health”. Photo: IPN
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Giuli Alasania, the mother of the imprisoned former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, on Thursday said his son was not accusing the Georgian government of poisoning him in detention, and believed “traces” originating in a “foreign state” could be related to his medical condition.
In her remarks, Alasania urged the public to refrain from “gaining political points” on his son’s “deteriorating health”.
My son does not accuse Georgians or the Georgian authorities of poisoning. If the poisoning really took place, he believes that there are traces and handwriting of a foreign state, which, as you know, considers my son as an enemy”, Alasania said in an apparent reference to Russia.
“I call on everyone to refrain from gaining political points on my son's deteriorating health. This is where the matter of life and death of a person, my son, is decided. I ask everyone to pay attention to the mother's position and show maximum restraint”, She noted.
Alasania also stressed Saakashvili did not intend to continue “any activity” in Georgian politics.
Saakashvili on Monday dismissed claims by his lawyer Valeri Gelbakhiani over his alleged poisoning while in custody, stating he had never told any of his lawyers he had suspected poisoning had triggered his current “complicated health”.
Georgian justice minister Rati Bregadze on Tuesday said the government was offering the imprisoned former president to bring “any doctor from any foreign clinic” and involve them in his treatment in Georgia.
The comments also follow a new report on Saakashvili’s health, which cited his “psychological intolerance” to detention. Mikheil Sarjveladze, the chair of the Georgian parliament's committee on human rights, on Monday said the clause could not serve as a basis for granting individuals release from prison, pointing out the information made public on diagnoses and health condition of Saakashvili was “not enough” to warrant his transfer abroad for treatment.
Saakashvili, a citizen of Ukraine, was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 on his clandestine return to Georgia ahead of municipal elections.
Georgian Dream authorities have maintained the rights of the former president have been “fully protected”, including in his transfer for treatment to Gori Military Hospital in November and then to Vivamedi clinic on May 12, as Saakashvili went on hunger strike shortly after his arrest.
The former president is serving a six-year term for abuse of power in two separate cases stemming back to his time in office, while three other cases are pending.