President Zurabishvili welcomes Georgian gov’t decision to transfer Saakashvili to military hospital
Zurabishvili stated that decisions that were made today ‘are steps forward that will ensure the peace of the society and the stability of the country.’ Photo: Salome Zurabishvili/Facebook.
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Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has welcomed the decision of the Georgian government to admit former president of the country Mikheil Saakashvili to Gori military hospital, stating that the clinic ‘meets all medical and safety standards.’
She noted that this decision ‘fully corresponds’ to the European Court of Human Right’s (ECHR) interim judgement.
The former president agreed with the decision in advance and said he would end the hunger strike if he was transferred to a multi-profile clinic,” Zurabishvili states.
I welcome the decision to transfer the former President to the Gori Military Hospital, @Helenkhosh's decision to end her hunger strike, the opposition's readiness to not hold protests near the clinic, and some parties' decision to end their parliamentary boycott.
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) November 19, 2021
Saakashvili who has been on hunger strike for 50 days has been demanding his transfer to civil hospital for the last several weeks.
Droa opposition party leader Elene Khoshtaria also started the hunger strike 17 days ago with the same demand and ended it earlier today following the decision on Saakashvili’s transfer.
Zurabishvili has also welcomed Khoshtaria’s decision to stop the protest, adding that it is important for the opposition not to hold protest rallies near the clinic and to end the boycott of the parliament.
Opposition Lelo - For Georgia Leader Badri Japaridze stated that they will terminate the boycott of the parliament after Saakashvili’s transfer to the clinic in Gori.
Zurabishvili stated that decisions that were made today ‘are steps forward that will ensure the peace of the society and the stability of the country.’
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 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.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has reiterated her previous claims that she will not pardon arrested ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. She said Saakashvili, who was arrested a day before the October 2 municipal elections in Tbilisi ‘does not satisfy any criteria of a political prisoner or of a victim of innocence’.
Droa opposition party leader Elene Khoshtaria has decided to stop her 17-day hunger strike today after former president Mikheil Saakashvili was offered transfer to Gori military hospital by the Ministry of Justice. Khoshtaria, who was on hunger strike in the parliament building of Georgia, was demanding Saakashvili’s transfer to a civil clinic ‘for proper treatment.’
The former president Mikheil Saakashvili has accepted the Georgian government’s offer to be transferred to Gori military hospital and is ready to stop the 50-day hunger strike after the admittance to the clinic, ex-president’s lawyer Nika Gvaramia announces.
US senators Jim Risch, Jeanne Shaheen, Ron Johnson, and Ben Cardin have said that the former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili who is currently serving a prison sentence, 'deserves to be treated fairly and with dignity, in accordance with international standards and Georgian law.'
Georgian public advocate Nino Lomjaria says that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued an interim measure on November 19 in which the court demanded the Georgian government provide ‘adequate medical care’ for former president Mikheil Saakashvili, in accordance with ‘changed medical circumstances’ revealed by the medical panel invited by Lomjaria on its November 17 conclusion.
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili told the Georgian Parliament on Monday she did not plan to consider the issue of pardoning the imprisoned ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.