Gov’t “doing its utmost” to ensure health of imprisoned ex-pres. Saakashvili - Justice Minister
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Monday said a part of the domestic opposition was using the topic of the former President’s health “for its own political interest”. Justice Ministry press office
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Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze on Monday said authorities were “doing their utmost” to ensure the health of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili in detention.
Bregadze was responding to a recent report by a domestic rehabilitation centre over Saakashvili’s health that pointed to “very serious complications” in his condition, and said a part of the domestic opposition was using the topic of the former President’s health “for its own political interest” “since the day of his arrest” in October 2021.
The Justice Minister alleged “certain opposition politicians” had encouraged Saakashvili not to end his hunger strike - which he launched shortly after his detention - as doing so would “kill him politically”.
To put it mildly, such calls [towards a person on hunger strike] were immoral and unacceptable”, Bregadze said.
He also stressed the former official’s rights had been “fully protected” in detention facilities, from the Rustavi No.12 prison - where Saakashvili was initially placed - to the hospital of the Gldani No.18 prison - where he was moved in early November last year - as well as the Gori Military Hospital - where he was transferred in late November - and finally at the Vivamedi civilian clinic, where he has been receiving treatment since May 12.
Saakashvili chaired the Executive Committees of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council before his arrest in Tbilisi last year. Photo: IPN.
Bregadze also said Saakashvili had refused to follow doctors’ instructions while in the Rustavi prison after his return from the Gori Military Hospital in late December, and had been subsequently transferred to the Vivamedi clinic “to prevent any complications in his health”.
It is better for doctors to speak about Saakashvili’s health. I can only say that the state is doing everything to ensure his health and he has received all necessary services while in custody. Of course, a part of the domestic opposition is trying to use Saakashvili’s topic for its political agenda”, said the Minister.
Lawyers of Saakashvili on Thursday appealed to Tbilisi City Court for granting his release on medical grounds, citing a new report by Empathy centre - a domestic non-governmental organisation monitoring the former President’s health - which pointed to potential “coma and death” for Saakashvili in detention.
Saakashvili, a citizen of Ukraine, was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 on his clandestine return to Georgia ahead of municipal elections.
The former president is serving a six-year term for abuse of power in two separate cases stemming back to his time in office, while three other cases are pending.
Lawyers of Mikheil Saakashvili, the imprisoned former president of Georgia, on Thursday appealed to Tbilisi City Court for granting his release on medical grounds, citing a new report by a domestic rehabilitation centre that pointed to potential “coma and death” for the former official in detention.
Georgian justice minister Rati Bregadze on Tuesday said the government was offering the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili to bring “any doctor from any foreign clinic” and involve them in his treatment in Georgia.
Thea Tsulukiani, the vice prime minister and former minister of justice of Georgia, on Friday urged president Salome Zourabichvili to refrain from making “any calls” to domestic courts over the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili, saying it could be seen as interference in judicial developments around the former official.
Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili on Thursday said domestic courts should allow the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakshvili’s transfer abroad for medical treatment if the anticipated report by health professionals studying his condition established ”serious complications”.
The Georgian Government has presented the draft for a new penitentiary code to the Parliament, with the proposed document including a number of benefits for Penitentiary Service employees and inmates, Prime Minister Irakli Garibasvhili said at Monday's Government’s meeting.
The imprisoned former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili is engaged in “self-harm”, refusing to follow doctors’ instructions, and eating “only what he wants and when he wants”, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze told Imedi TV on Tuesday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Wednesday said the imprisoned former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili had been offered by Justice Minister Rati Bregadze to invite “any doctor from any country” for his medical treatment, but the aim of Saakashvili’s lawyer was to release him from custody on the medical grounds and not to heal him in Georgia.
Anri Okhanashvili, the Head of the Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said the health and safety of imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili was “in the best interests” of the Government.
Vice Prime Minister Thea Tsulukiani on Friday expressed her hope that imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili would stop “self-harming” and resume his normal diet, in response to recent comments by doctors that the former official “eats what he wants and when he wants”, refusing to follow their instructions.
While the Georgian public should be united to present the country "in the best possible way" for the ongoing European integration, it is “unacceptable” that the “radical wing” of the domestic opposition is “purposefully spreading disinformation" on human rights violations and torture in the country, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze said on Tuesday in comments on the ongoing controversy around the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
The trial hearing on whether the imprisoned former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili will be granted release or postponement of the rest of his sentence on medical grounds has been delayed from Wednesday to next week.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday said there were “no question marks” regarding the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili in the capitals of Georgia’s partner countries.
Georgian law enforcement officers on Friday arrested an individual for insulting Giuli Alasania, the mother of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, following an incident on Thursday outside the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi.
Zurab Chkhaidze, the Clinical Director of the Vivamedi clinic in Tbilisi, on Tuesday rejected claims by family members and lawyers of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili who said the latter was in “urgent need” of treatment in an intensive care unit.
Georgia’s imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili has lost his appeal for release or postponement of the rest of his sentence on health grounds, with Tbilisi City Court on Monday denying the application in the case that has been surrounded by public debate.