Court hearing on granting ex-Pres. Saakashvili release or sentence postponement delayed again
A trial hearing involving currently imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili has been scheduled on December 22. Photo: RFE/RL
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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.
The development comes as doctors refused to allow the former official to appear at the session in person due to his condition, while a lack of proper technical equipment at the Vivamedi civilian clinic - where Saakashvili has been receiving treatment since May - precluded the alternate option of ensuring his engagement in the hearing via video link.
The complications have meant the hearing has been postponed for the second time in a week, after the initial delay from December 9 due to absence of means of ensuring Saakashvili’s remote participation from the clinic.
Ahead of the judge’s decision on the Wednesday hearing, the prosecution had requested 30 days to study the recently released health reports on Saakashvili’s condition, used by his lawyers in their appeal to the court on December 1 to either release him or postpone the rest of his sentence.
However, judge Giorgi Arevadze dismissed the prosecution’s motion and postponed the trial hearing by only a week.
To prevent the spread of "fake information" over former President's health and "exerting pressure" on court to grant his release on medical grounds, Justice Minister Bregadze on Tuesday said his body could be "forced" to publish "certain footage", which "clearly shows" how Saakashvili was refusing to follow doctors' instructions and hindering the court's activities. Photo: Justice Ministry press office.
In their protest of the outcome, Saakashvili’s lawyers have claimed “every minute matters for saving” the former official, and criticised the Special Penitentiary Service for the absence of hardware in the clinic for ensuring his participation in the court session.
In response, Nika Abramishvili, a representative of the Service, said “appropriate technical means need adequate maintenance that is currently unavailable at the clinic”.
Reacting to controversies over the trial and Saakashvili’s health, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze reiterated on Tuesday the former official was engaged in “self-harm”, eating “what he wants and when he wants [and] refusing to follow doctors’ instructions”, in a bid to “purposefully” complicate his condition and achieve the release from prison.
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.
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.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the Government was “not only aware” of its responsibility in relation to developments around the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, but also acting in accordance with the duty.
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.
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.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said attempts of “politicised interference” with Georgian justice were “unacceptable”, in his remarks on debates held on Monday in the European Parliament about latest developments around the health and sentence of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
The Georgian Justice Ministry on Wednesday said it was being “completely open and transparent” over questions related to imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, as the latter announced his latest hunger strike and accused the body of violation of his rights of featuring in a trial hearing on granting him release or sentence postponement on medical grounds.
The Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia on Wednesday posted footage on social media of the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili, which shows his condition in different periods at the Vivamedi civilian clinic.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday accused the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili of “talentless simulation” in his participation in the ongoing trial hearing at Tbilisi City Court on granting release or postponement of the rest of his sentence on medical grounds.