Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on Tbilisi to transfer Saakashvili to Kyiv

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry calls on the Georgian authorities to stop using “physical and psychological violence” against their ex-president Mikhail Saakashvili, and also to transfer it to Kyiv. This is stated in a statement on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

“Georgian authorities use psychological and physical violence against Mikheil Saakashvili, deny him urgently needed medical care, deliberately creating a direct threat to his life… We call on the Georgian authorities to immediately stop mocking Mikheil Saakashvili and hand him over to Ukraine,” the message says.

Kyiv believes that the current situation around Saakashvili testifies to “the curtailment of democracy in Georgia” and contradicts the country’s course towards joining the European Union. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also called on foreign states and international organizations to publicly defend Saakashvili.

Saakashvili was detained in Georgia on October 1, 2021. He returned to the country shortly before the first round of the municipal elections. Initially, the politician was in the prison of the city of Rustavi, and in May 2022 he was transferred to a Tbilisi clinic for a medical examination. Doctors revealed a spinal injury in him, the ex-president of Georgia needed an operation.

On November 19, Saakashvili’s mother, Giuli Alasania, stated that her son was found to have high levels of heavy metals, including mercury, in his body. According to Saakashvili’s mother, the conclusion of the doctors may become the basis for the release of the politician. On November 28, the politician’s lawyer Shalva Khachapuridze reported that Saakashvili’s body had discovered traces of arsenic. However, the ex-president of Georgia himself denied reports of his poisoning.

January 31 appeared reports about the transfer of Saakashvili to intensive care, but the management of the clinic denied them. At an earlier court hearing on the issue of release or suspension of punishment for health reasons, experts warned that due to the loss of 45 kg of weight since the arrest, Saakashvili is on the verge of multiple organ failure and could die, transmitted Sputnik Georgia.