Former Georgian president and opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili on Saturday, November 20, ended his fifty-day hunger strike in detention, after being transferred to a military hospital in Gori, some 90 kilometers west of the capital Tbilisi.
“He is still in critical condition and has been placed in an intensive care unit”, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) his personal doctor, Nikoloz Kipchidzé, specifying that the opponent would start “Eat later in the day on Saturday”.
Former Georgian President (2004-2013) stopped eating on 1is October to protest against his imprisonment upon his return to Tbilisi after years of exile in Ukraine. On Thursday, he had passed out during a meeting with his lawyers.
Change of tone
The Georgian authorities initially rejected the doctors’ recommendations to hospitalize him in a civilian establishment, before changing your tone on Friday and transferring him overnight to a military hospital.
Thousands of supporters of Mr Saakashvili, 53, took to the streets on Friday night in the capital Tbilisi to demand guarantees of adequate medical assistance for the former leader of the Caucasian country, currently considered the leader of the opposition.
On Friday, the Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadzé, accused the opposition of“Exploit Saakashvili’s health for his ridiculous political ends”.
Doctor Guiorgui Grigolia, who examined Mr. Saakashvili after his discomfort on Thursday, told AFP on Thursday that his “Life was threatened” and that he had to “Be transferred to a civilian clinic without delay”, citing heart and neurological problems in his patient.
“Illegal imprisonment”
“I will never accept my illegal imprisonment”Saakashvili said on Facebook on Friday evening, adding that he was ready to “Appear before a fair trial and accept any verdict he renders”.
In 2018, Saakashvili was sentenced in absentia to six years in prison for ” abuse of power “, accusations he said were fabricated and politically motivated.
“As soon as I am released I will join you – as an equal among equals – to rebuild our country ”, wrote Mr. Saakashvili. He thanked his compatriots for their “Incredible demonstration of solidarity and humanity” and called for a campaign “To liberate the country” of the domination of the Georgian Dream Party of the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. “I believe in our victory like never before”, he assured.
Mr Saakashvili’s arrest exacerbated a political crisis following the legislative elections in 2020, narrowly won by the ruling Georgian Dream Party, and which the opposition deemed fraudulent.
Pro-Western president from 2004 to 2013 and now considered the leader of the opposition, Saakashvili returned to Georgia on 1is October after an eight-year exile. Immediately arrested, he was imprisoned under his conviction for ” abuse of power “, which he considers purely political.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili caused a scandal by declaring that Mr. Saakashvili “Had the right to commit suicide” and that the government had been forced to stop him because he had refused to give up politics.
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