Tuberculosis and dementia probable diagnoses of Saakashvili – lawyer

Tuberculosis and dementia – an issue related to loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities, are possible diagnoses of imprisoned former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, his lawyer Shalva Khachapuridze told Front News on Tuesday. 

He suggested that medical checks were still in progress and no final results were available so far. 

“When the final conclusion is available, around November 18, then we will announce definite diagnoses”, said the lawyer. 

Khachapuridze noted that a laboratory test result had arrived from Germany, which made a mention of tuberculosis mycobacteria, “which still needs to be verified”. 

“The whole trouble is that the body temperature [of the former president] has been rising to 38 degrees over the past six months and the reason could not be determined”, said the lawyer. 

He said that American expats had also requested the results of analyses conducted for months, amounting to 1,500 pages. 

“It will take time for them to study these documents. Thus, it is early to speak about specific diagnoses for now”, he said. 

Saakashvili, who currently holds Ukrainian citizenship, was arrested in Tbilisi last October, after eight years in political exile. 

His family and lawyers claim that the third president needs to be transported abroad for “proper treatment”, after almost two months of hunger strike and subsequent health complications.