US State Department “concerned” by ex-Pres. Saakashvili’s health

Matthew Miller, the Spokesperson of the United States Department of State, on Tuesday expressed concerns about the health of Georgia’s currently imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili. 

 

In his press comments, the US official stressed the body was monitoring Saakashvili’s case “closely”. 

 

“We are closely monitoring the case of Mr. Saakashvili. We are very concerned about his health and we have repeatedly told this to the Government of Georgia both in public and private conversations”, he said. 

 

Miller highlighted the Georgian Government was responsible to provide the former President with the medical care he needed “so that his rights are protected. We will continue to monitor this case closely”. 

 

Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 after eight years abroad, ahead of domestic municipal elections, and is serving his six-year-term for abuse of power while in office. 

 

The Georgian Government claims the former official had been engaged in “self-harm” since his arrest to “escape justice”, adding the European Court of Human Rights ruling in May – which rejected Saakashvili’s transfer abroad on health grounds – had “confirmed” his rights had been ensured while in custody and his allegations on alleged ill-treatment was part of a “fake campaign”.