The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged Tbilisi to transfer former Georgian President and Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili to Ukraine and accused Tbilisi of "inhuman" treatment of its ex-leader
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd February, 2023) The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged Tbilisi to transfer former Georgian President and Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili to Ukraine and accused Tbilisi of "inhuman" treatment of its ex-leader.
Earlier in the week, members of Saakashivili's family said that his health condition had become critical and he had been transferred to an intensive care unit. Representatives of the hospital where the politician is being treated later rejected these statements.
"The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expresses resolute protest over a rather inhuman treatment of Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili who is imprisoned in Georgia ... We urge the Georgian authorities to immediately stop torturing Mikheil Saakashvili and transfer him to Ukraine," the statement read.
The ministry also urged international organization to "publicly support" the former Georgian president.
Saakashvili was the president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 2004 to 2013 and was barred from seeking a third term under the Georgian constitution. Shortly after the end of his term, Saakashvili left the country. He actively supported Ukraine's Euromaidan in 2014 and 2015 and was appointed governor of Ukraine's Odesa region after acquiring Ukrainian citizenship.
The former president was put in jail on October 1 last year, shortly after returning to Georgia, where he was wanted on several charges, including abuse of power, stealing public money, and ordering a crackdown on a peaceful rally. He is serving a six-year sentence. Saakashvili's doctors and supporters say his health has deteriorated dramatically since he went on hunger strikes during his detention.
On November 28, Saakashvili's attorney, Shalva Khachapuridze, said that a medical examination had detected a heavy metal and arsenic, in addition to mercury, in the ex-president's body.
