Georgia moved the imprisoned opposition leader and former President Mikhail Saakashvili from a prison clinic to a military hospital on Saturday (November 20) after doctors warned him that he was in danger of death after a 50-day hunger strike.
The gorgeous pro-Western reformer was sentenced to prison on October 1st after returning from exile in Ukraine and launched a hunger strike, saying that his arrest was political.
On Thursday, 53-year-old Saakashvili fainted and doctors urged the authorities to transfer him to a regular clinic, saying he was life-threatening.
The Georgian authorities initially rejected the medical advice, but the Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze said on Friday that they are willing to transfer Saakashvili to a military hospital, “where his health and safety will be protected by the state at best”.
Lawyer Dito Sazaglishvili told AFP that in the early hours of Saturday morning, Saakashvili “transferred from a prison hospital to the military in Gori, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of the capital Tbilisi. Clinic”.
On Friday night, Saakashvili stated that he would end the hunger strike once he was “transferred to a suitable clinic”.
‘Illegal imprisonment’
“I will never accept my illegal imprisonment,” he said on Facebook, adding that he was prepared to “appear before a fair trial and accept any sentence it makes.”
In 2018, Saakashvili was sentenced in absentia to six years in prison for “abuse of power”-he refused to accept charges on grounds of fabrication and political motives.
The US State Department urges the Georgian authorities to “treat Mr. Saakashvili with fairness and dignity, including the right to a fair trial.”
Saakashvili wrote in his speech to the country: “Once I am released, I will rebuild our country together with you-as equals.”
He thanked the Georgians for their “incredible performance of unity and humanity” and called for a movement to “liberate the country” to get rid of the rule of the Georgian Dream Party of the oligarch Bizena Ivanishvili.
“I believe in our victory as never before.”
Georgia’s richest man Ivanishvili-the former prime minister and founder of the Georgian Dream-is widely regarded as the head of Georgia, although he has no formal political role.
Critics accused the government he allegedly controlled of using prosecutions to punish political opponents and criticize journalists.
‘Political revenge’
Dr. George Grigolia, who saw Saakashvili on Thursday, told AFP that his condition was “life-threatening” and that “he must be immediately transferred to a civilian clinic.”
He cited some neurological and heart diseases, “Without proper care, these diseases may become irreversible and fatal, which was impossible in the medical institutions that were receiving treatment at the time.”
The European Court of Human Rights ruled last week that Georgia must ensure the safety of Saakashvili in prison and provide him with appropriate medical services during the recovery period after the hunger strike.
Saakashvili was transferred to a prison hospital last week, where Amnesty International stated that he “lost his dignity” and did not receive adequate care.
Human rights groups on Twitter described it as “selective justice” and “obvious political retaliation.”
Saakashvili said he was beaten by prison guards and he was worried about his life.
As President of Georgia from 2004 to 2013, he left the country after the expiration of his second and final term and then went into exile in Ukraine, where he led a government agency to direct reforms.
Saakashvili’s arrest after returning to Georgia deepened the political crisis, which broke out after the opposition condemned it as a fraud in a parliamentary poll last year.
It also triggered some of the largest anti-government protests in a decade.
Iraqi Prime Minister Gali Bashvili recently caused an uproar, saying that Saakashvili “has the right to commit suicide” and the government was forced to arrest him because he refused to withdraw from politics.
