The US Department of State on Thursday told the Voice of America that the country’s diplomatic mission in Georgia was “closely monitoring” the developments around the currently imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili. 

The body also said the current Georgian Dream government carried the responsibility to treat Saakashvili “fairly and decently”, by providing the necessary medical care.

A trial hearing is now in underway in Tbilisi City Court on granting the former official’s release on medical grounds or the postponement of the rest of his six-year-sentence for abuse of power while in office. 

Nino Nadiradze, the head of the Vivamedi civilian clinic, where the former official has been receiving treatment since last year, told the court Saakashvili and his entourage seemed to be interested in the third president’s “complicated health”, to reportedly ensure his release on medical grounds. 

The current Georgian Dream authorities have also accused the former official of “self-harming” to be allowed to leave the country. 

Saakashvili, who currently holds Ukrainian citizenship, was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021, after eight years in self-imposed political exile