Penitentiary service: ambulance was not called for imprisoned Saakashvili

The Penitentiary Service of Georgia has denied speculation that an ambulance was called to Rustavi Prison No.12 due to an alleged deterioration in the health of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili. 

Saakashvili, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after returning from eight years in political exile, considers himself a ‘political prisoner’ and has reportedly been on a hunger strike for 36 days.

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The penitentiary service said that the ambulance was called to administer vaccinations to prisoners in Prison No.16, which is adjacent to the Prison No.12.

The establishments have a common central entrance, and some media outlets wanted to use this fact to spread false information, they wrote.

The penitentiary service maintains that Saakashvili’s health condition is ‘satisfactory.’

Saakashvili, who is currently a citizen of Ukraine, was convicted by a Georgian court in absentia in 2018 on two counts of abuse of power and sentenced to six years in prison.

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The former president is now facing five additional charges, including illegal seizure of property, embezzlement, illegal rally dispersal, and illegal border crossing.