European Parliament calls on Georgia to release ex-President Saakashvili for medical treatment

The European Parliament, in a resolution adopted on Wednesday, expressed grave concern over the deterioration of the health of the former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, and called on the Georgian authorities to send him for treatment abroad.

The European Parliament reports this.

"In a resolution adopted on Wednesday, Parliament expresses grave concern over the deteriorating health of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been detained in his home country since October 2021. Noting reports of his dramatic weight loss and suggestions that he might have suffered from heavy metal poisoning during his imprisonment, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) call on the Georgian authorities to release Mr. Saakashvili and allow him to receive proper treatment abroad," the message reads.

It is noted that President Salome Zurabishvili was urged to use her constitutional right and pardon Saakashvili. The MEPs also reminded the Georgian authorities that they are obliged to ensure the health and well-being of Saakashvili, provide him with proper treatment, and respect his rights and personal dignity in accordance with the country's constitution and international obligations.

In addition, the resolution highlights the fundamental role that oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili (who is called "an informal ruler of Georgia" and believed to have close ties to the russian political elite) played in Saakashvili's continued detention "as part of a personal vendetta." Thus, the parliament repeats its call to the Council of the EU and democratic partners to consider introducing sanctions against Ivanishvili for his role in "deteriorating the political process in Georgia."

For reference:

Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia and a citizen of Ukraine, was detained in Georgia on October 1, 2021, when he returned to his homeland after an eight-year absence. He is charged with illegal border crossing, which, according to the investigation, he committed on September 28, when he secretly arrived at the port of Poti from Ukraine on a vessel carrying a truckload of dairy products.

According to Georgian laws, illegal border crossing provides up to five years of imprisonment.

Ukraine officially recognized Saakashvili as a victim in the case of improper treatment in detention.

On February 1, 2023, during a press conference with the President of Austria, Alexander van der Bellen, in Kyiv, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, showed photos of Saakashvili and expressed his belief that the Georgian authorities were publicly torturing and killing him.

The Parliament of Ukraine appealed to Georgia, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the parliaments of the member states of the European Union regarding the need to immediately transfer the third president of Georgia, a citizen of Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili, for treatment abroad.

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