Court should allow Saakashvili’s foreign treatment if his health at risk – president

Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili on Thursday said that a court should allow the extradition of currently imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili for treatment abroad if a forthcoming report on his health, drafted with the engagement of domestic organization Empathy and foreign experts, pointed to “serious” health issues. 

She said by such ruling the domestic court would “prove” its independence. 

In her earlier comments the president claimed she was unable to pardon Saakashvili due to the pending cases related to his term in office, but said she would not have taken this step due to “serious crimes” committed by Saakashvili’s government. 

Saakashvili claims his health has deteriorated much while in custody and is in need of foreign treatment. 

He was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 after eight years in political exile, claiming he wanted to support the opposition to replace the current Georgian Dream authorities “via elections”, with the government saying he wished a “coup”. 

Prior to his arrest, Saakashvili chaired the executive committee of the Ukrainian national reforms council as a citizen of Ukraine, with his Georgian citizenship earlier revoked due to receiving Ukrainian citizenship.