Parliament official: opposition UNM trying to help imprisoned fmr. President Saakashvili escape sentence

Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Tuesday said the opposition United National Movement party was trying to help the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili avoid having to serve the rest of his sentence and "running a PR campaign" for the purpose.

In his remarks over the matter, Sarjveladze noted "all medical procedures" were available for Saakashvili in detention, countering claims by a part of the opposition about a serious deterioration of his health that allegedly required his transfer abroad for treatment. 

“From the very first day Saakashvili went to prison, their goal has been not to ensure his health, [or] to solve humanitarian issues, but [...] to help Saakashvili avoid the well-deserved sentence - this is their political task”, the Parliament official said.

To achieve this goal, they use everything except the legal mechanism. They use everything, including the factor of deterioration of the health condition, to try to [help him] avoid punishment. Some say this openly. They resort to a PR campaign, hire organisations which, in exchange for a certain fee, are ready to release as widely as possible the falsified information about his health”, he continued.

Sarjveladze stressed the Government paid “adequate attention” to issues related to Saakashvili’s health, with the former President having access to "almost all medical services".

On this backdrop, I think that any insinuations, arguments regarding the need to transfer this man [Saakashvili] abroad, are baseless. It is logical to talk about transfer abroad only if there is a diagnosis or a [medical] need that is not available in Georgia”, Sarjveladze concluded.

Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 after his clandestine return to Georgia. He is currently serving a six-year term for two separate abuse of power cases while in office, with three other cases involving his term pending. 

Saakashvili was transferred from the No. 12 Prison in the city of Rustavi to the civilian clinic Vivamedi in capital Tbilisi in May, following an offer for the transfer from the justice ministry, made after demands on the matter from the former president’s medical team and a part of political opposition.

His lawyers and family members have claimed the former president is in “urgent need” of treatment abroad, adding local professionals had been “unable” to make “accurate diagnosis and ensure relevant treatment” for months.

Responding to the claims, the country’s justice ministry has said “all necessary services” have been ensured for the former president in detention since his arrest and have stressed his potential transfer for treatment abroad could only be ruled by courts.