Tengiz Tsuladze, a neurologist who is a member of the concilium under the Georgian Public Defender, said today that imprisoned third President Mikheil Saakashvili has a serious protein deficiency which triggers various health issues.

He stated that it would be effective if Saakashvili changes the environment during treatment.

"He looks weaker. As we looked in the patient’s medical card, we found  some abnormalities,  indicating that the patient's body ‘is eating itself’ - proteins that are not supplied to it cause the breakdown of organs and muscles. In our opinion, the reason for this may be resistant post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, which eventually led to anorexia, decreased appetite,” Tsuladze said.

The doctor stated  that Saakashvili currently consumes about 1/4 to 1/3 of its regular calorie intake, up to 600-800 calories which contains virtually no protein, and muscle mass is reduced in the face of protein deficiency.

 “There is also a drop in pressure during awakening, not loss of consciousness, but its previous state. It is possible and expected the condition to lead to loss of consciousness,” Tsuladze said.

The doctor suggested  that “it is true that basic medical treatment and  medical consultations are ensured in prison, but it seems that this environment is not proper to help neuropsychological rehabilitation.”

"There is no agreement between the patient and the prison medical staff, and Saakashvili consciously or unconsciously refuses to receive protein,” said Tsuladze.

Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi last year after eight years in political exile.

Currently he is serving his six-year-term for abuse of power.

He was convicted in absentia back in 2018 and was jailed after being arrested in October 2021.