US Ambassador: legal process on ex-pres. Saakashvili must be conducted in line with basic human rights, right to privacy

The legal process involving Georgia’s currently imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili must be conducted in accordance with basic human rights and rights to privacy, US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan on Thursday said in response to recent decision by Georgia’s justice ministry to release a footage over Saakashvili’s condition in the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi.  

 

“The government has an obligation to ensure that his [Saakashvili’s] rights are protected, that he receives the medical care he needs, the psychological care he needs, and a fair trial. Fundamentally, that is the government’s responsibility”, the ambassador said. 

 

“A court hearing is underway. The legal process must be conducted in accordance with basic human rights and the right to privacy, as well as the right to a fair trial,” she noted. 

The ministry said on Wednesday it made the footage public due to “high public interest”, in contrast to the claims by Saakshvili’s entourage that the latter is “tortured and ill-treated”.