European parliament members concerned with alleged deterioration of ex. pres. Saakashvili’s health
Mikheil Saakashvii has refused ‘all hunger-related treatment’, including tests, services and inspections of the emergency crew. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Tweet 
Share
The ECR Group in the European Parliament is ‘deeply concerned about the worsening health condition’ of the third president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who was arrested on October 1.
Mikheil Saakashvili has been on a hunger strike for 27 days. Given the period of starvation, he is facing heart failure. The medical facilities in prison do not comply with the norms of the hospital and may not be adequate to provide necessary treatment“, the statement reads.
Saying that the responsibility for the former president’s health ‘lies solely with the government of Georgia and the leadership of the ruling party’, the ECR calls for the transfer of Saakashvili ‘to an alternative, civilian medical facility, where he will receive complex medical care’.
The responsibility for the former President @SaakashviliM’s health lies solely with the government of Georgia and the leadership of the ruling party. https://t.co/OxLwXl7IB6
— Anna Fotyga Biuro Poselskie (@AnnaFotyga_PE) October 27, 2021
The European People’s Party (EPP) also shares the concern.
We are concerned with reported @SaakashviliM's health deteriorated conditions. We call on Georgian authorities to transfer urgently former President Saakashvili to an appropriate civil hospital; by not doing so, authorities bear responsibility for any aggravation of his health.
— EPP (@EPP) October 27, 2021
Mikheil Saakashvili, who was detained a day before Georgia’s municipal elections of October 2, remains on hunger strike since then.
Earlier today Saakashvii announced his refusal to ‘all hunger-related treatment’, including tests, services and inspections of the emergency crew.
I will only take non-starvation-related medicines until you return the meeting room to its original form and allow me to enjoy my procedural rights," he addressed the director of No. 12 penitentiary facility.
Speaking about the medical risks associated with Saakashvili's current health condition, the Georgian doctors united under the International Association of Doctors also call for authorities to ensure his treatment at any multidisciplinary civilian hospital to avoid any complications.
Justice Minister Rati Bregadze has meanwhile announced that the prison hospital is fully equipped and there is no need for Saakashvili’s transfer elsewhere.
The opposition United National Movement (UNM) is holding a rally in the western Georgian town of Zugdidi demanding to release Georgia’s ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. UNM mayoral candidate in Zugdidi Anzor Melia, who is the father of UNM chair Nika Melia said in his address to the party supporters that he is happy to be running for Zugdidi mayor.
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Lyudmyla Denisova, has said that former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s rights have been breached on several grounds. After visiting Saakashvili in Rustavi Prison No.12 earlier today, Denisova reported that Saakashvili’s rights have been violated on procedural, medical, and religious grounds.
Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s Ukrainian lawyer Evgen Grushovets claims he was denied entry to Georgia. The lawyer says that he was stopped at Tbilisi International Airport and sent back to Ukraine without any explanation.
Lawyers of ex. president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili demand he be treated in a civil hospital and not in prison as his condition is allegedly deteriorating. Saakashvili’s lawyer, Nika Gvaramia, says Saakashvili may be killed during instigated unrest in the prison hospital, which is why it is unacceptable to treat him there.
The Georgian Special Penitentiary Service says that they have been forced to erect a new glass wall in a room where former president Mikheil Saakashvili was meeting with his lawyers, as ‘both Saakashvili and his lawyers were constantly violating coronavirus guidelines.’