Ukraine has reacted with shock to images of an emaciated Saakashvili (55). The pro-European reformer, who years ago warned the world about President Putin’s expansionist drive, took part in a court hearing on Monday via video link from a hospital in Tbilisi, where he is being held.
The virtually unrecognizable Saakashvili has lost half his weight, according to his supporters, and showed the judge during the hearing how ribs protrude from his chest.
An independent medical commission recently found that Saakashvili’s health had seriously deteriorated in captivity. Saakashvili himself says that he was poisoned. “You can see it in the footage: the man is dying,” Saakashvili’s lawyer Massimo D’Angelo told news site Tuesday. Politico.
Zelensky demands that Saakashvili, a Ukrainian citizen, be transferred to Ukraine for medical treatment. “The world is witnessing how the Kremlin, through the Georgian government, kills Mikhail Saakashvili,” Zelensky said. He called on the Georgian ambassador in Kiev to travel to Tbilisi to find a solution.
Medical assistance
The Georgian government called Zelensky’s response “extreme” and “offensive.” Tbilisi denies operating on behalf of Russia and claims that Saakashvili will receive the necessary medical attention.
Between 2004 and 2013, Saakashvili put Georgia on the path towards integration with NATO and the European Union. His reputation was damaged towards the end of his presidency following revelations of prison abuses and allegations of authoritarian leadership.
After losing elections and court cases against him, Saakashvili left for Ukraine, where he was appointed governor of Odesa and received Ukrainian citizenship.
In 2021, Saakashvili, who is married to Dutch Sandra Roelofs, returned to his native country and a Georgian judge sentenced him to six years in prison for abuse of power.
Russian occupation
Saakashvili and his supporters say the conviction is politically motivated. The current trial against the former president, in which he is accused of breaking up an opposition protest in 2007, is also a sham, according to the Saakashvili camp. Last year, the EU refused to grant Georgia candidate status for accession, citing, among other things, a lack of judicial reform.
Ukraine has long denounced the rapprochement between Georgia and Russia. Kiev withdrew its ambassador from Tbilisi last year because Georgia refused to impose sanctions on Russia after Putin’s second invasion of Ukraine.
In May, the Georgian government gave the green light to resume air traffic with Russia, even though a fifth of Georgia’s territory has been occupied by Russian military forces since 2008.
