Mikheil Saakashvili enjoys all the rights granted to him by the law, Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze says
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
According to the Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze, former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili enjoys all the rights granted to him by the law.
Rati Bregadze said that the number of visitors to Saakashvili can be cited as an example to demonstrate this, which is 1500 visitors in total.
"For the last few days, we have been actively monitoring the attempts to create tension around the health condition of the convicted Mikheil Saakashvili and the slanderous campaign against the state. We should remind the public that since the day of the prisoner Mikheil Saakashvili's stay in the twelfth facility, which was October 1, 2021, he has been enjoying all the rights granted to him by the law.
While serving the sentence, all medical needs that Mikheil Saakashvili had were met by the state in a timely and adequate manner in the twelfth penitentiary institution, the eighteenth medical institution in Gldani, and later in the military hospital," said Rati Bregadze.
According to his explanation, while in the twelfth penitentiary institution, Saakashvili was prescribed medical treatment, which he did not take by his own decision.
"Due to his behavior, in order to minimize the possible risks of health deterioration, he was transferred to the multi-disciplinary clinic of the civil registry for relevant medical measures, where he is still under the supervision of highly qualified medical personnel. Throughout this period, we have seen numerous attempts to discredit doctors and declare completely undeserved distrust towards them, which we have strongly condemned and we have repeatedly called on everyone to refrain from spreading inaccurate information.
Here, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all the doctors who faithfully carry out their professional duties despite many insults. In addition, we also applied to the Levan Samkharauli National Bureau of Expertise to assess the health condition and an expert opinion has been scheduled.
Recently, one of the lawyers also spread information about the possible poisoning of Mikheil Saakashvili, to which we also had an immediate response and asked the Levan Samkharauli National Bureau of Expertise to conduct a toxicological examination, in which Mikheil Saakashvili himself refused to participate," said the minister.
As for the topic of taking Mikheil Saakashvili out of the country for treatment, according to Rati Bregadze, the prisoner is serving his sentence in the penitentiary institutions on the territory of Georgia, and the Ministry of Justice does not have the legal leverage to make such a request.
"Equality before the law is one of the main constitutional values, which applies equally to any person in this country, and exceptions not foreseen by the law will not be allowed for anyone.
It is also well known to the public that the Empathy Center conducts an independent examination, in which foreign experts are also involved, and as you know, the state gave each of them the appropriate permits after the complete presentation of the documentation.
Based on the high responsibility that the state attaches to the life and health of each person, we express our readiness and suggest to the convicted Saakashvili to bring any doctor from any foreign clinic whom the state will give the opportunity to be involved in his treatment," said Rati Bregadze.
