Opposition leader claims parliament speaker did not allow him to see ex-pres. Saakashvili

Opposition leader claims parliament speaker did not allow him to see ex-pres. Saakashvili

Giorgi Vashadze, a head of the Strategy Agmashenebeli opposition party, on Wednesday claimed parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili had not allowed him to see convicted former president Mikheil Sakashvili, who has been receiving treatment in the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi since May. 

“Just as a man and not as a politician I wanted to see Saakashvili to encourage him, to see his condition personally, and for this purpose I appealed to the speaker of the parliament. However, Papuashvili refused to meet my request”, Vashadze said.  

He claimed the current Georgian Dream authorities were “misleading the public” with their reports that Saakashvili was engaged in “self-harming” and refused to follow the doctors’ instructions. 

 

Justice minister Rati Bregadze told Imedi TV on Tuesday that Saakashvili “eats what he wants and when he wants”, refusing to follow the doctors’ instructions. 

He expressed his suspicion that the former president and his entourage were acting so to “prevent the recovery of his health” and achieve Saakashvili’s “illegal release” on medical grounds, as the relevant trial was scheduled on December 9. 

A health report by a domestic Empathy centre last week pointed to more than 20 health issues over Saakashvili and warned of potential “coma and death” if the former president would not be transported abroad for treatment. 

A separate report on Saakashvili’s health by a group of professionals invited by the country’s public defender, published on Tuesday, pointed to cachexia - a hypercatabolic state associated with chronic diseases - as its diagnosis and stressed Saakashvili had lost 42 kg, and was suffering from restriction of movement, decrease in energy, sensitivity disorder, raised body temperature, deterioration of memory and change in behaviour.

Saakashvili, a citizen of Ukraine, was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021, after eight years in self-imposed political exile. 

Currently he is serving his six-year-term for abuse of power, while three other cases are pending.





Giorgi Vashadze, a head of the Strategy Agmashenebeli opposition party, on Wednesday claimed parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili had not allowed him to see convicted former president Mikheil Sakashvili, who has been receiving treatment in the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi since May. 

“Just as a man and not as a politician I wanted to see Saakashvili to encourage him, to see his condition personally, and for this purpose I appealed to the speaker of the parliament. However, Papuashvili refused to meet my request”, Vashadze said.  

He claimed the current Georgian Dream authorities were “misleading the public” with their reports that Saakashvili was engaged in “self-harming” and refused to follow the doctors’ instructions. 

 

Justice minister Rati Bregadze told Imedi TV on Tuesday that Saakashvili “eats what he wants and when he wants”, refusing to follow the doctors’ instructions. 

He expressed his suspicion that the former president and his entourage were acting so to “prevent the recovery of his health” and achieve Saakashvili’s “illegal release” on medical grounds, as the relevant trial was scheduled on December 9. 

A health report by a domestic Empathy centre last week pointed to more than 20 health issues over Saakashvili and warned of potential “coma and death” if the former president would not be transported abroad for treatment. 

A separate report on Saakashvili’s health by a group of professionals invited by the country’s public defender, published on Tuesday, pointed to cachexia - a hypercatabolic state associated with chronic diseases - as its diagnosis and stressed Saakashvili had lost 42 kg, and was suffering from restriction of movement, decrease in energy, sensitivity disorder, raised body temperature, deterioration of memory and change in behaviour.

Saakashvili, a citizen of Ukraine, was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021, after eight years in self-imposed political exile. 

Currently he is serving his six-year-term for abuse of power, while three other cases are pending.