Amnesty International on Saakashvili’s transfer: not just selective justice but apparent political revenge
Saakashvili, who has allegedly been on hunger strike for 41 days, was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after illegally crossing the national border. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Amnesty International has responded to recent developments in Georgia, and accused the Georgian government of carrying out political revenge following former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s transfer to Gldani No. 18 prison hospital, allegedly against his will.
The world’s largest human rights movement has tweeted that Saakashvili was ‘denied dignity, privacy and adequate healthcare.’
#Georgia: ex-President #Saakashvili (5th week of hunger strike) violently transferred to prison hospital; allegedly threatened; denied dignity, privacy & adequate healthcare. Not just selective justice but apparent political revenge.
— Amnesty International (@amnesty) November 9, 2021
The Georgian Special Penitentiary Service reported two days ago that the ex-president was transferred to Gldani prison hospital ‘to prevent deterioration in health due to increased risks.'
However, Saakashvili stated that he was verbally and physically assaulted by prison staff and inmates when transferred to the facility.
The State Inspector’s Service has begun an investigation into the alleged offense and has requested footage from Saakashvili’s transfer to Gldani prison hospital from the penitentiary service, for further review by the court.
Head of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), Nika Simonishvili, has also urged the Georgian government to immediately transfer Saakashvili from Gldani prison hospital, stating that ‘it is a humiliating and inhuman environment for him.’
A total of seven NGOs released a statement yesterday in which they call on the state to transfer Saakashvili to an ‘alternative medical institution.’
We call on @GovernmentGeo 2 take all the steps necessary to de-escalate situation. It is vital that t/@SaakashviliM would be immediately transferred to an alternative medical institution. https://t.co/R9AzGsyCos
— Transparency Int'l GE (@Transparency_GE) November 9, 2021
Saakashvili, who has been on hunger strike for 41 days, was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after illegally crossing the national border.
He is sentenced to six years of imprisonment for abuse of power in two cases. The former president also faces several other charges, including illegal seizure of property, embezzlement, illegal rally dispersal, and illegal border crossing.
The US government has also called on Georgian authorities to take steps to ensure Saakashvili’s urgent psychological and physical needs.
The former president refused to receive hunger-related treatment, including tests, following the release of footage by the Georgian Special Penitentiary Service of him receiving food in Rustavi Prison No.12 on November 6.
The State Inspector’s Service will investigate the alleged physical assault on ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili when he was transferred to Gldani prison hospital on November 8. Saakashvili claims that prison staff verbally and physically abused him, saying ‘[they] dragged me to the ground and hit me several times in the neck.’
The US government has called on Georgian authorities to take steps to ensure the country’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili’s, urgent psychological and physical needs, US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price stated yesterday. The Department of State also encouraged the Georgian government to treat Saakashvili ‘fairly and with dignity,’ noting that they are ‘closely observing’ the situation around the former president.
Civil organisations have called on the government of Georgia to transfer the former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili from Gldani Prison No.18 hospital to an ‘alternative medical institution. In a joint statement, seven organisations maintain that Saakashvili’s transfer to a prison hospital posed the risk of ‘escalating the political situation’ in the country, and the ‘full responsibility’ for the events rests with the government.
Ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili who was transferred to Gldani prison hospital today, has released the letter from the facility stating that the purpose of the recent activities is his physical destruction under Russian president Vladimir Putin’s order.
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria has stated that the Gldani No.18 prison hospital, where ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili was transferred earlier today, is not provided with two medical devices - MRT and catheterisation equipment - that were recommended by the medical council.
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.
French Ambassador to Georgia Diego Colas has said that Georgian authorities are responsible to ensure the imprisoned former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili's health and safety. Colas asserted that both the worries about the integrity of the penitentiary system and the worries about Saakashvili's dignity are 'legitimate concerns.'
Georgian opposition representatives have welcomed the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) monitoring Saakashvili’s health, in accordance with a complaint submitted by the former president's lawyers.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has refused to answer journalists’ questions about the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) judgement of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s complaint and his transfer to Gldani No. 18 prison hospital on November 8.
The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a complaint by former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili on his transfer to a private clinic from a prison hospital, and instead urged him to call off his hunger strike, the Georgian Ministry of Justice said yesterday and released an interim judgement of the court.The court demanded from the Georgian government to inform them about Saakashvili’s state of health and ensure proper medical care for him now and in the post-hunger-strike period.
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria has stated that the medical council created to monitor the health condition of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili ‘should intensify its work’ and called on the Georgian Justice Ministry and the Special Penitentiary Service to ‘ensure the full protection of his health.’