Hearing on ex-Pres. Saakashvili’s case to be held in a clinic

A hearing on the illegal border crossing case involving the Georgian former President Mikheil Saakashvili will be held in a Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi today, where the ex-president is undergoing treatment, Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Chakhnashvili accepted on Thursday.

 

Saakashvili was transferred to this clinic back in May of this year by the Penitentiary Service due to his deteriorating health.

 

The motion over holding the hearing in the clinic was filed by the prosecutor of the case, Levan Vepkhvadze.

 

Saakashvili’s lawyer, Shota Tutberidze, said that the prosecutor’s motion should not be granted as his client constantly needed medical care.

 

Tutberidze noted that it was possible that the technical support of the court session could not be provided there.

 

Saakashvili’s family and supporters are seeking permission to take the ex-president to another country for treatment.

 

The third president has been in custody since October 1, 2021.

 

He returned to the country in late September, a few days before municipal elections.

 

Saakashvili has already been sentenced to six years in prison by Georgian courts in two  separate cases.

 

In 2018, a Georgian court tried  Saakashvili in absentia for pardoning convicts over the death of Sandro Girgvliani and beating former MP Valeri Gelashvili.

 

The court found Saakashvili guilty of abuse of office in both cases and sentenced him to six years in prison.

 

The ex-president is also facing criminal charges for embezzling budget funds and forcibly dispersing a November 7, 2007 rally.

 

The charge of illegally crossing the border was filed last year as Saakashvili crossed into Georgia from Ukraine after eight years in political exile.

 

Saakashvili calls all cases politically motivated and considers himself a personal prisoner of Bidzina Ivanishvili and Vladimir Putin.