Mikheil Saakashvili, who led Georgia as its president in the past, dismissed the Georgian court’s decision to detain him on health grounds as tantamount to a death sentence. He asserted that the ruling would place him in prison with serious, long-standing illnesses that could be life-threatening. He also noted that social media platforms weigh in on his case, mentioning that a mainstream platform once associated with a global tech company has faced bans in Russia, a point he used to illustrate the charged political climate surrounding his situation.
Saakashvili described the court session as a spectacle, saying that a panel of medical experts from around the world acted as his defense witnesses while the government’s specialists did not even meet him. He claimed the court accepted the assessments of the government line while discounting the testimony of the international medical team, which included a Nobel laureate who warned that confinement could worsen his condition. He insisted that his resolve remains intact and that the moment demands continued resistance.
The court case drew attention to his health, with officials stating that Saakashvili’s condition had deteriorated since his return to Georgia in October 2021. After entering the country, the former president faced arrest and imprisonment. By May 2022, his health had grown so fragile that he was moved from the prison facility to a medical clinic for thorough examination and treatment planning, highlighting the ongoing tension between legal proceedings and medical needs.
Within the political sphere, Levan Khabeishvili, the head of the United National Movement, a leading opposition party in Georgia, spoke about plans to organize efforts aimed at securing Saakashvili’s release. He described the intention to establish a coordinated effort that could unify Georgian and Ukrainian perspectives in support of the former president, emphasizing the broader implications of the case for regional politics and civil rights.