NGOs: The government should take responsibility for Saakashvili's health
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Non-governmental organizations responded to Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition and called on the government to fully understand its obligations and take responsibility for saving Saakashvili's life and health.
NGOs call the statements of the representatives of the ruling party regarding Saakashvili "outrageous and cynical" and note that such an attitude is categorically incompatible with Georgian and international law, as well as with the political goal of EU membership.
"We, the signatory organizations, respond to the fact that the health condition of the third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has become extremely serious. Despite the report of the medical examination, the report of the Special Council of the Public Defender and the call of the European parliamentarians, the government does not recognize the need to take immediate steps to protect the prisoner's life and health. According to the Public Defender, Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition already provides the basis for postponing the sentence.
The statements of the ruling party's high-ranking officials are extremely outrageous and cynical. In particular, the Prime Minister of Georgia said that Mikheil Saakashvili's life "is up to the Lord" and "he cannot take responsibility for it".
The ruling party still does not recognize the aggravation of Saakashvili's condition, and a number of members are waiting for Saakashvili's death, one can say, with joy. Mikheil Saakashvili's life was already in critical danger once, the reason for which was that the government did not pay attention to the conclusion of the Council of the Public Defender for weeks.
We believe that a similar attitude towards the life and health of any prisoner is categorically inconsistent with Georgian and international law, as well as with the political goal of EU membership. Further worsening of Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition and lethal outcome will not only be the worst violation of human rights, but also a political collapse that will cause irreparable damage to Georgia's reputation.
The signatory organizations call on the government to fully understand the state's obligations in the field of basic human rights, to stop being indifferent to Mikheil Saakashvili's serious health condition, and to take responsibility for saving his life and health. In addition, we hope that the scheduled court sessions regarding the postponement of the sentence will be held in the shortest possible time, and the court will be guided only by the interest of protecting the life and health of the convicted person," the statement signed by 14 NGOs reads.
