Ex-president Saakashvili to temporarily stay at Gori Military Hospital, Special Penitentiary Service Says

By Khatia Bzhalava

Wednesday, December 29

The third president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who is now a citizen of Ukraine, was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1.

Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze stated that Saakashvili’s medical treatment ended, but he would stay at the Gori Military hospital at the decision of the Special Penitentiary Service.

The Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia stated yesterday that the third president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili would temporarily stay in Gori Military Hospital. According to the penitentiary service, doctors decided to discharge Saakashvili from the hospital on December 27, but he did not obey the request of the staff regarding his transfer to Rustavi #12 facility.

The agency notes that following a nervous breakdown, Saakashvili was observed with blood pressure fluctuation and, therefore, the penitentiary service temporarily postponed enforcement of the measure. According to the Minister of Justice of Georgia, Rati Bregadze, since Saakashvili’s treatment is already over, he will be transferred to the Rustavi N12 Prison following consultations with the medical personnel.

Saakashvili’s private physician Nikoloz Kipshidze said his patient considers a hunger strike as the only tool to continue the political fight. However, he noted that the ex-president would not survive another hunger strike. Kipshidze further claimed the Gori Hospital is not a suitable place to treat Mikheil Saakashvili in his current health.

According to the Justice Minister, if the former President goes on hunger strike again at the Rustavi Prison and his health is endangered, according to the protocol, he will be transferred to the medical facility in the Gldani prison instead of the Gori hospital.

Bregadze notes that if there is a possibility of deterioration of health, inmates are generally transferred to the Gldani hospital, noting that “there are no exceptions to the law and the protocol of an ordinary prisoner will apply to Saakashvili.”

The third president of Georgia, now a citizen of Ukraine, after being in political exile for eight years, was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1, ahead of the October 2 municipal elections. In 2018, the Georgian court convicted him in absentia on two counts of abuse of power and sentenced him to six years in prison. He is also facing five additional charges, including illegal seizure of property, embezzlement, illegal rally dispersal, and illegal border crossing.