Latvian president urges Georgian gov’t “fully guarantee” ex-pres. Saakashvili’s rights

Egils Levits, the Latvian president, on Monday called on the Georgian government to “fully guarantee the rights” of imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili. 

“I call on the Georgian authorities to fully guarantee the rights of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, including necessary medical care, in line with Georgia’s international commitments and aspirations”, the Latvian top official tweeted. 

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

He is now serving his six-year-term for abuse of power while in office, while three other cases are pending. 

Tbilisi city court earlier this month denied Saakashvili’s granting release or the postponement of his term on health grounds, amid the claims of the former official, his family and the legal team that he is in “urgent need of proper treatment abroad”.

In contrast to the claims, the Georgian government officials and the personnel in the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi, where Saakashvili has been receiving treatment since May 2022, say that the third prescient has been engaged in “self-harm” through not-obeying doctors and refusing to receive necessary daily intake of calories in a bid to facilitate his “illegal release” from custody.