Penitentiary service: Saakashvili didn’t leave Rustavi prison against his will [VIDEO]
The penitentiary service said it posted the footage due to ‘high public interest.’
Video grab from Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia
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The Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia has released the video footage of the former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili leaving the Rustavi Prison No.12, which refutes the speculation that Saakashvili was transferred to Gldani prison clinic by force. The service said it posted the footage due to ‘high public interest.’
Ombudswoman Nino Lomjaria, who visited Saakashvili in Gldani prison clinic this evening, said that the former president was told that he was being transferred to a civil hospital instead of a prison clinic, which he agreed to. Lomjaria added that Saakashvili does not have any visual injuries.
Saakashvili, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after a clandestine return from eight years in political exile, considers himself a ‘political prisoner’ and claims to be on a hunger strike.
The former president was transferred to Gldani Prison No.18 hospital to ‘prevent deterioration in his health due to increased risks,' the penitentiary service reported this evening.
Georgian justice minister Rati Bregadze has stated that former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili physically insulted prison staff in Gldani No. 18 facility, where allegedly he was forcibly brought.
Representative of Georgian Public Defender's office Mikheil Gogadze stated that ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who is on a hunger strike for more than a month, has been transferred to Gldani No.18 prison hospital under protest earlier today.
Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, who reportedly has been on hunger strike for 39 days, has been transferred to Gldani No.18 prison hospital ‘to prevent deterioration in his health due to increased risks,' the Georgian Special Penitentiary Service reports.
Doctor of arrested ex-president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who is currently serving a prison term, says a medical council has agreed to transfer him to a civil hospital following the deterioration in his health.
Ukrainian high officials have called on the government of Georgia to transfer the former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili from a prison hospital to a private clinic. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has expressed disappointment over the fact that Saakashvili, who is currently a citizen of Ukraine, was transferred to a prison hospital this evening without the Ukrainian side being informed.