CNN shows unsettling video from Saakashvili’s room
The American TV channel CNN aired a video from the room of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, in which the politician collapses before reaching the bed. Earlier, there were reports that the ex-president was being taken to intensive care in critical condition, the newspaper reported.
Saakashvili’s medical team believes that it's nearly impossible to cure the former president of Georgia. They stated that he has recently lost 42 kilograms, has impaired cognitive functions, and polyneuropathy. The doctors also mentioned that the current treatment is not working and is only making Saakashvili’s condition worse – if the former president’s health doesn't improve, he may only have a few months to live.
Previously, Saakashvili reached out to foreign media to request an investigation into his poisoning. He explained that a laboratory in the United States and a well-known toxicologist in New York have confirmed this. The politician also requested an investigation into Georgia’s suspicious connections with Russia.
On February 6, a court in Georgia rejected the release of the former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, for health reasons. Judge Giorgi Arevadze announced this decision during the hearing.
Saakashvili mentioned his simulations
In mid-December, the special penitentiary service of Georgia presented footage from Saakashvili’s room, pointing out his simulations, as reported by RIA Novosti. They released a 10-minute video.
The video was compiled from CCTV footage installed in Saakashvili’s ward at the Vivamed clinic. The footage shows Saakashvili in a hospital bed, along with moments where he speaks loudly with the medical staff and resists them, smoking electronic cigarettes, watching TV, and a moment where Saakashvili attempts to deliberately fall from a hospital bed and is stopped by doctors. The footage was recorded at various times during his stay in the ward; in footage from December 12, Saakashvili looks thin and moves around the ward with the help of a walker.
“In response to the high public interest, the Special Penitentiary Service releases video footage that demonstrates the condition of the imprisoned Mikheil Saakashvili at different times. This video clearly shows the faked actions of Mikheil Saakashvili, which are intended to obstruct justice and mislead the public and international partners,” – stated in the message.
The service notes that the video footage illustrates how the state treats Saakashvili and the aggressive way in which he treats the medical staff.
Begun a hunger strike in protest
Earlier on Wednesday, Saakashvili announced that he started a hunger strike in protest after refusing to participate in the court session remotely, but ended it a few hours later. The city court held a hearing on the case of possibly postponing the execution of the prison sentence for the ex-president due to the doctors' assessment of his health. For health reasons, doctors did not allow Saakashvili to be present in court. It was expected that the politician would participate in the trial live from the clinic where he is receiving treatment after a long hunger strike in prison. However, the penitentiary service explained that they did not have the necessary technical equipment. Supporters of the former president are certain that the Georgian government is doing everything to prevent Saakashvili from appearing in public.
Saakashvili was detained in Georgia on October 1, 2021, he is being investigated in several criminal cases. The politician was convicted in absentia in the cases of the murder of banker Sandro Girgvliani and the beating of deputy Valery Gelashvili. In the first case, Saakashvili was sentenced to three years in prison, in the second – to six. In addition, he is a defendant in cases of the dispersal of an opposition rally on November 7, 2007, the pogrom of the Imedi television company and the embezzlement of funds from the state budget – they are still being considered by the courts. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that Saakashvili will remain in prison for a long time, he will serve the entire term.
In November 2021, the former president of Georgia was taken to a military hospital in the city of Gori, where he will undergo medical supervision after a hunger strike. The Ministry of Justice of Georgia decided to transfer from a prison hospital to a civilian one.
