Ruling party sec gen: transferring imprisoned former president abroad for health reason “not up to party”
In his comments over the matter, Kaladze noted there was a “relevant agency” making decisions on transfers for inmates in penitentiary facilities of the country. Photo: Tbilisi City Hall
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Kakha Kaladze, the mayor of Tbilisi and the secretary general of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the question of allowing a transfer of the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili abroad due to his health condition was “not up to the ruling party”.
In his comments over the matter, Kaladze noted there was a “relevant agency” making decisions on transfers for inmates in penitentiary facilities of the country.
It is not up to the party. Saakashvili is in prison and is serving his sentence. There is a relevant agency that makes relevant decisions regarding all prisoners, which is necessary based on the health and safety of a prisoner”, Kaladze said.
Arrested in Tbilisi on his clandestine return to the country ahead of October 2021 municipal elections, Saakashvili has claimed his former 49-day hunger strike and “improper treatment while in custody” have “seriously deteriorated” his health.
Rejecting the allegations, Georgian Dream authorities have maintained the rights of the former president have been “fully protected”, including in his transfer for treatment to Gori Military Hospital in November and then to Vivamedi clinic in May.
Facing several charges, Saakasvili is currently serving a six-year prison term after he was sentenced in absentia in 2018 on two separate charges of abuse of power.
British medical expert Cornelius Katona on Tuesday visited the convicted former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili in a Tbilisi clinic following claims by Saakashvili’s lawyers and family about his deteriorated health.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Thursday said the Government had done “everything” to protect the right to health of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze said on Monday the Government may invite independent medical experts to check the health of the jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili, in a bid to “remove all questions” around the matter amid claims by Saakashvili’s attorneys and family that the former President is in “urgent need” of “proper treatment” abroad.
Georgia's imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili is leaving the United National Movement opposition party and Georgian politics as “his agenda has changed” and taking care of own health has become his main task, lawyer Valeri Gelbakhiani announced on Saturday.
The special penitentiary service on Sunday said it had not been provided with any official report, confirming the authenticity of information disseminated by the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s lawyer about the possible poisoning of the prisoner.
Anri Okhanashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee, on Monday said "relevant state agencies" were ensuring the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili was "safe, provided with all necessary services, and served his sentence in an environment prescribed by the Georgian legislation".