Georgia: Online images depicting Mikhail Saakashvili, the imprisoned former president of Georgia, appearing to be severely underweight during an online court proceeding, have surfaced.
On Monday, pictures and video of a grey-haired Saakashvili pulling up his shirt to reveal the condition of his body were posted online. The former president, who was detained in Georgia in October 2021, is currently serving a total of six years in prison for abusing his position of authority and hiding evidence of the murder of a banker.
Ukraine, which gave Saakashvili citizenship in 2015 after he fled Georgia, has once again condemned the images. The pro-Western former leader, who also served a one-year term as governor of the Odessa Region before resigning in 2016, has been accused by Kiev of being mistreated by Tbilisi.
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Salome Zourabichvili, the president of Georgia, rejected Kiev's requests to pardon Saakashvili so he could receive medical care abroad.
In response to the release of new photos of Saakashvili, Mikhail Podoliak, a top advisor to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, accused Georgia of torturing its former leader "slowly and cynically" in order to win over Russian President Vladimir Putin. He alleged that the Tbilisi administration was destroying Georgia's "European prospects" and turning the country "synonymous with cannibalism."
Since his arrest, Saakashvili, 55, has participated in hunger strikes. He reportedly lost weight over the past year, going from 115 kg (254 pounds) in October 2021 to 74 kg in December. He stated earlier this year that while being held in custody, "Russian agents" had poisoned him with high-density metals.
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Saakashvili has been charged with fabricating the severity of his illness. The Georgian government released video of the prisoner in December that showed his "offensive and aggressive behaviour" towards hospital staff members. The Georgian Special Penitentiary Service declared at the time that the video "clearly shows that Mikheil Saakashvili is dissembling in order to obstruct the enforcement of justice and mislead the public and international partners." His drastic weight loss has been attributed by Georgian doctors to his refusal to eat.
An advisor to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry named Anton Gerashchenko described the most recent Saakashvili video as "horrific." Salome Zourabichvili, the president of Georgia, declined to pardon Saakashvili, he continued. He obviously needs medical care and is in a bad situation.
International pressure has been applied to Georgia to join US-led sanctions against Russia due to the conflict in the Ukraine. In accordance with a Putin-signed decree, air travel between Georgia and Russia resumed in May.
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From 2004 to 2013, Saakashvili served as president. In August 2008, he launched an offensive against the secessionist republic of South Ossetia. The attack resulted in the deaths of several Russian peacekeepers stationed in the area, sparking a five-day war between Moscow and Tbilisi.