US urges Georgian gov’t to treat Saakashvili ‘fairly and with dignity’
The US Department of State says that they are ‘closely observing’ the treatment of former president Mikheil Saakashvili. Photo: Reuters.
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The US Department of State has urged the Georgian government to treat former president Mikheil Saakashvili who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1, ‘fairly and with dignity.’
In a statement released yesterday, the Department of State also ‘strongly urged’ the Georgian government to ensure Saakashvili’s presence at all court hearings for his pending criminal cases, in accordance with the law.
We are closely following the treatment of Saakashvili since his arrest,” said the statement, as Saakashvili has been on hunger strike for 50 days.
The Department of State has praised the oversight work of Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria and her efforts to invite a medical panel ‘to evaluate Saakashvili’s health and to review the state of medical facilities at the prison hospital.’
Imprisoned and on hunger strike, Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili called on the U.S. for help as the former Soviet republic turns away from the pro-Western path he set it on 18 years ago https://t.co/jHVwHXk7zn via @bpolitics
— Mikheil Saakashvili (@SaakashviliM) November 18, 2021
They called on the Georgian authorities to take Lomjaria’s recommendations into account.
Head of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party Irakli Kobakhidze accused a medical panel invited by Lomjaria of coming to a ‘fake conclusion’ about the health of Saakashvili, stating that this may cause legal trouble for Lomjaria.
The medical panel said on November 17 that Saakashvili’s health condition was ‘critical,’ and that he needs an ‘immediate transfer’ to a multipurpose, well-equipped civil clinic.
The Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia refused to take Saakashvili to trial hearings in the cases concerning him ‘due to possible security threats and taking Saakashvili’s health condition into account.’
They said that the opposition activists had plans to cause unrest on the streets while transporting the former president to the court.
Saakashvili, who is a citizen of Ukraine and was found guilty of abuse of power in two separate cases in absentia back in 2018, says that he returned after eight years in political exile to remove the Georgian Dream government from power.