Freedom to Mikheil Saakashvili

Political Persecution of Mr. Saakashvili

The former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has been in prison on politically motivated charges, he is deprived of proper medical care and his health condition has been alarmingly deteriorating.” The resolution “calls upon the authorities of Georgia to take urgent measures to protect the health of Mikhail Saakashvili and to immediately release him.” EPP The European People’s Party (EPP) Political Assembly on 13-14 November 2023 adopted an emergency resolution.

The steady deterioration of Mr. Saakashvili’s health has resulted in “severe sarcopenia, and severe stage 4 cachexia”, a complex syndrome associated with an underlying illness, causing ongoing muscle loss. According to the group of doctors convened by the Public Defender, Mr. Saakashvili has lost half of his weight while in prison, and if he continues to lose weight, “irreversible changes in the body will begin”.

Mr. Saakashvili’s condition has been exacerbated by his repeated hunger strikes in protest against his incarceration. Georgian authorities have refused to allow for his transfer abroad despite recommendations of the Public Defender and medics triggering fears of a tragic outcome.

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Mr. Saakashvili’s health was assessed most recently on October 19, 2023. While the group of doctors convened by the Public Ombudsman recorded a slight improvement in his condition, they also noted that “muscle atrophy and neuropathy still persist”. According to the group assessment of August 2023 “health of Saakashvili, shows slow dynamics towards the deterioration.” The conclusion reads that “the deepening microcytic anemia has been managed with blood infusions”. The doctors’ group concludes that “overall, a gradual, slow dynamic of deterioration is maintained”.

President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, President Macron of France, President Sandu of Moldova, and the former Prime Minister of Belgium PM Guy Verhofstadt, have called on the Georgian authorities to free Mr. Saakashvili. The European Parliament approved by overwhelming vote a resolution calling for Mr. Saakashvili’s release. It warned that his case was a litmus test for the Georgian government’s commitment to European values. 27 EU member states diplomatically demarched to the Georgian government regarding Mr. Saakashvili’s deteriorating health. Prime Minister of Poland Morawiecki issued a proposal for Mr. Saakashvili to be treated in Poland. US Department of State urged the government of Georgia to “heed the Public Defender’s recommendations about appropriate treatment”. Ukraine expelled the Georgian ambassador and called on the Georgian authorities to put "an end to these abuses and [allow] Saakashvili's return to Ukraine”.

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Upon his return to Georgia after eight years in exile, Mr. Saakashvili was arrested on 1 October 2021. His mistreatment in various prison facilities has been sharply criticized by local and international human rights groups. Mr. Saakashvili has reportedly been tortured in custody. While the authorities deny the accusation on one instance they released a video showing prison guards dragging Mr. Saakashvili by his limbs. Amnesty International assessed that Mr. Saakashvili’s treatment by authorities was “not just selective justice but apparent political revenge”. Reacting to the circumstances of Mr. Saakashvili’s forceful transfer to yet another prison facility Human Rights Watch stated that it could be interpreted as "a forced treatment” and noted that Mr. Saakashvili was “violently transferred to the prison hospital, allegedly threatened; denied dignity, privacy, and adequate healthcare”.

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Mr. Saakashvili has been convicted in absentia for alleged abuse of power. Additionally, he is under trial for separate charges related to the dispersal of an anti-government rally in 2007 and illegal border crossing in 2021. The charges against him are widely viewed as a “politically revenge”. In 2020, after the exhaustion of domestic remedies, the cases were referred to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, alleging violations of the right to a fair trial, “no punishment without law”, and “limitation on use of restrictions on rights” under Article 18 of the European Convention on Human Rights

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds images of Mr. Saakashvili taken in prison. 1 February 2023. Photo credit: Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP

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• I remain profoundly concerned about Georgia's ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili and his worsening health - the Georgian government MUST take action now to protect his life: Kerry Kennedy | 11 September 2023

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• I'm a Georgian political prisoner. My death means embracing the Kremlin: Saakashvili | 8 August 2023