The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) did not satisfy the request of the lawyers of the imprisoned ex-president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, that he be transferred to Warsaw for medical treatment. This decision was announced today at the press conference of the Minister of Justice of Georgia. According to Rati Bregadze, the court also did not order Georgia to transfer the detainee to a different medical institution.
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“From day one of the convict Saakashvili’s arrival, a targeted slanderous campaign, financed from unknown shady sources and aimed at portraying Georgia as a state that tortures, began. In order to achieve this goal, this group of people even went as far as inciting the convict to have 4 episodes of starvation, disobey the doctor’s recommendations, deny treatment, and consequently worsen his own health condition, which is nothing but self-harm.
The legal dispute over the campaign of artificially deteriorating health conditions to obtain freedom ended unfavorably for Saakashvili’s defense team both in the first instance and in the appellate court. After this, they appealed to the Strasbourg Court demanding Saakashvili’s transfer to Warsaw for treatment as a stopgap measure.
Strasbourg Court ruling was published today, according to which, in the case of Saakashvili v. Georgia, convict Saakashvili was denied transfer to Warsaw, and the state was not ordered to move him to a different medical facility within the country.
All of this testifies that all actions by the state since his return was rightful and in accordance with the highest standards of human rights,” stated the Minister of Justice.
According to Rati Bregadze, if a doctor’s recommendation says that it is possible for Mikheil Saakashvili to return to the penitentiary facility from the Vivamed clinic, he will be returned. At this time, Bregadze added, there are no objective grounds for him to be relocated to another clinic or to a penitentiary hospital.
Mikheil Saakashvili’s family members and lawyers have not yet made any comments to the media regarding the decision of the European Court.
Mikheil Saakashvili has been in the Vivamed clinic, a contractor of the Special Penitentiary Service, for a year now. According to the latest assessment of the expert group created by the public defender, he has severe sarcopenia (muscle atrophy), weight loss, and a critical drop in blood pressure. In case of further weight loss, the patient will become bedridden.
The ex-president's defense appealed to the Strasbourg court in early April for the enactment of a temporary measure. Before that, on February 6, Tbilisi City Court judge Giorgi Arevadze rejected the plea for the release or postponement of the prisoner's sentence due to his health condition. The said decision was upheld by the Tbilisi Court of Appeal. The request for Saakashvili's release and postponement of the sentence was based on the conclusion of the Empathy Center and the International Medical Expert Commission.
Mikheil Saakashvili was detained on October 1, 2021, on the eve of local self-government elections in Tbilisi. He has been found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison for the case of the beating of MP Valeri Gelashvili and pardoning the employees of the Constitutional Security Department convicted for the murder of Sandro Girgvliani. Saakashvili is also charged with illegal crossing of the border, raiding of Imedi TV Company, November 7 protest rally crackdown, illegal appropriation of Patarkatsishvili’s property, and the embezzlement of 9,024,367 GEL belonging to the Special State Protection Service. The third president of Georgia does not admit guilt, claims he is politically persecuted, and is a prisoner of Putin.
