Imprisoned ex-pres. Saakashvili on hunger strike reportedly faints, receives medical assistance
Intensive care specialist asserted that Saakashvili's condition is 'absolutely stable.' Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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The former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili who is currently on a hunger strike in prison hospital has reportedly fainted during a meeting with his lawyers. Saakashvili's lawyer Nika Gvaramia has confirmed to the media that the former president was assisted by doctors and is now 'fine.'
Saakashvili's other lawyer Beka Basilaia reported earlier today that the former president had lost consciousness.
I can't assess from a medical standpoint, but he was in a very bad condition, Basilaia added.
Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) party tweeted:
According to @SaakashviliM's lawyers, his condition is currently stabilized & remains in prison resuscitation unit. Ex-Pres is in urgent need of transfer to a poly-profile civilian hospital as concluded by a team of highly respected medical experts set up by the Public Defender
— UNM Georgia (ენმ) (@UNMGeorgia) November 18, 2021
The Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia maintained that Saakashvili's condition was 'stable,' and announced that a doctor specialising in intensive care would comment on the former president's health.
Intensivist Guliko Kiliptari asserted that Saakashvili's condition is 'absolutely stable,' noting that she was at the scene 'on a coincidence.'
The doctor added that if she hadn't been at the scene, a team of intensive care specialists who work on duty in prison would assist Saakashvili.
Regarding the possible causes of fainting, Kiliptari said that the laboratory tests have been sent to investigate the case.
Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after a clandestine return from eight years in political exile. He denies all charges and considers himself a ‘political prisoner.’
The former president, who was serving his sentence in Rustavi Prison No.12, was transferred to Gldani prison hospital on November 8 to ‘prevent deterioration in his health due to increased risks,' the penitentiary service reported.
Saakashvili released a letter from prison hospital on November 11, saying that he is ready to call off his hunger strike if taken to a civil clinic for rehabilitation.
The State Inspector's Service of Georgia has launched an investigation into alleged 'inhumane treatment' of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili who is currently in prison. In the course of the investigation, the Inspector's Service has questioned the Rustavi prison employee, who said that he was invited for questioning 'by mistake.'
A medical council composed of eight health experts under Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria has presented its conclusion on the health of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, stating that the patient’s condition on the 49th day of his hunger strike is ‘critical,’ and he needs an ‘immediate transfer’ to a multi-profile, well-equipped civilian clinic.
Georgia’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili continues his hunger strike and refuses to take medication or receive an infusion as the government has not yet responded to his demand to transfer him to a civil clinic, Saakashvili’s lawyer Dimitri Sadzaglishvili stated earlier today.
The Union of Georgian Medical Associations has demanded imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili be transferred to a civil hospital in order to ‘save his life.’
A medical council invited by the Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria who visited the imprisoned former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili on a hunger strike in prison hospital after an episode of fainting, have said that the ex-president should 'immediately' be transferred to a civil clinic. The council of doctors says that Saakashvili's health is 'critical,' and he should be taken to a civil clinic before 'irreversible damage' occurs.
Droa opposition party leader Elene Khoshtaria has stated that she will not take medication to maintain strength on the 17th day of her hunger strike as former president Mikheil Saakashvili reportedly fainted in a prison hospital yesterday and he was still not brought to a civil clinic. Khoshtaria, who is on hunger strike in the parliament building of Georgia, is demanding Saakashvili’s transfer to a civil clinic ‘for proper treatment.’
The Georgian Justice Ministry has offered former president Mikheil Saakashvili a transfer to Gori military hospital in central Georgia, on the 50th day of his hunger strike. Saakashvili, the third president of Georgia who was convicted in absentia for abuse of power in 2018, says he returned after eight years in political exile to remove the Georgian Dream government from power.
The opposition United National Movement (UNM) party is holding a rally in central Tbilisi in front of the parliament building waiting for ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili’s decision whether or not he will agree to be transferred to Gori military hospital as the Georgian government offered earlier.
The imprisoned former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili's personal doctor Nikoloz Kipshidze has said that the ex-president who was transferred from a prison clinic to a military hospital last night is in 'severe' condition.
The Droa opposition party leader Elene Khoshtaria, who has ended her hunger strike after 17 days, is reportedly ‘stable’ and under medical supervision. Khoshtaria stopped her protest last night after her demand to transfer the ex-president from a prison hospital to a multifunctional clinic was met.
Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s personal doctor Nikoloz Kipshidze says that it may take several months for the imprisoned ex-president to fully recover. Following a visit to Gori military hospital yesterday evening, Kipshidze said that Saakashvili feels weak, but that his blood pressure is within normal bounds.