Justice minister initiates meeting with dip corps to discuss ECHR’s refusal on Saakashvili’s transfer on health grounds

The Georgian justice minister Rati Bregadze on Thursday met with 22 representatives of foreign embassies in Georgia, including five ambassadors, to discuss the latest decision by the European Court of Human Rights earlier this month that rejected the former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s motion on his transfer to Poland on health grounds, or his transportation to another civilian clinic inside the country. 

 

The meeting came following the calls of foreign countries to the Georgian government to ensure Saakashvili’s health and his rights while in custody, with the country’s authorities claiming “all necessary services’ had been ensured for him. 

 

Saakashvili, who currently holds Ukrainian citizenship, was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021, ahead of domestic municipal elections. 

 

The Georgian Dream authorities claim he had been “sent” by unidentified forces to “stage a coup” in the country to later “drag” Georgia into the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

 

Saakashvili is now serving his six-year-sentence for abuse of power while in office, with three cases against him still pending. The Tbilisi city court and the court of appeals have both rejected his transfer abroad on health grounds this year. 

 

The former president has been undergoing treatment in Tbilisi Vivamedi civilian clinic since May 2022.