“In order to prevent the deterioration of Mikhail Saakashvili’s health and in view of the increased risk to safety, he was transferred from prison No. 12 to the prison’s medical institution No. 18,” the prison administration said in a statement.
Saakashvili is “at increased risk of systemic complications and urgently needs to be treated in a modern hospital,” doctors said on Monday to assess the president’s health.
The prison hospital does not meet the criteria set by the doctors, said Ombudsman Nino Lommaria.
Saakashvili’s hunger strike continues for 39 days.
Speaking on Saakashvili’s hunger strike, Prime Minister Heraklion Garibashvili has said the ex-president “has the right to commit suicide”, further exacerbating the outrage of Saakashvili’s supporters.
Saakashvili left Georgia in 2013, when his second term as president ended. In recent years, he has lived in Ukraine, where he has held various high-ranking positions and until recently chaired the Ukraine Reform Executive Committee.
Saakashvili returned to Georgia on October 1 on the eve of the municipal elections.
He was arrested on the same day and is currently in Rustavi City Prison.
In 2018, Saakashvili was convicted in absentia of abuse of office and sentenced to six years in prison. Saakashvili, a 53-year-old Ukrainian citizen, himself dismissed the allegations as politically motivated and went on hunger strike after his arrest.
Saakashvili is now also accused of crossing the border illegally.
