Ex-Pres. Saakashvili’s health “substantially improved”, will be returned to prison once doctors recommend – Minister

Rati Bregadze, the Georgian Justice Minister, on Friday said the health of the currently imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili had been “substantially improved”, citing latest checks, and noted he would be returned to prison once medical professionals recommended that. 

 

Saakashvili, who currently holds only Ukrainian citizenship, has been receiving treatment in the Vivamedi Tbilisi civilian clinic since May 2022, after his detention in October 2021 and subsequent, long hunger strike. 

 

The third President claimed he was “mistreated” while in custody and offered  medical aid as “poor”. However, the  European Court of Human rights earlier this year rejected his notion both on the transfer abroad on medical grounds and inside the country in another clinic. 

 

The current Government said Saakashvili aimed at sparking unrest in Georgia through his arrival and later “dragging” the country into the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, also accusing him of taking actions to “damage the country’s image” by “unfounded and fake allegations” on alleged ill-treatment.