Georgian penitentiary service refuses to bring Saakashvili to court

While explaining the refusal to bring Mikhail Saakashvili to a Tbilisi court, the penitentiary service claimed that the presence of the politician at the trial in his case would create additional risks to his health.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on November 10, despite the court’s request to bring Mikhail Saakashvili to a hearing on his case, the penitentiary service refused to do that, fearing an attack by the opposition on a convoy car. Mikhail Saakashvili planned to take part in the trial, despite the pains caused by his hunger strike, advocates noted.

The penitentiary service refused to bring Mikhail Saakashvili to the court hearing and explained that his presence in the court would create “an additional risk to his health.” The penitentiary service is willing to provide remote participation of Mikhail Saakashvili in the court hearing or to hold it in the prison hospital, the “First Channel” of the Georgian TV reports.

Let us remind you that on November 11, the Georgian penitentiary service released two videos of the Mikhail Saakashvili’s transportation to the prison hospital. The release of the video in which warders are abusing Mikhail Saakashvili violates his right to privacy and insults his honour and dignity, the Georgian Ombudsperson says. Besides, the penitentiary service disseminated video and photo evidence that Mikhail Saakashvili was accepting food despite his hunger strike.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 15, 2021 at 02:20 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.