Ex-President Saakashvili: A life hanging by a thread

Status: 12/22/2022 5:55 p.m

The health of Georgia’s ex-president Saakashvili is a political issue. After a year in prison, he is a shadow of himself, as has now been shown in court. Dealing with him also plays a role in Georgia’s EU integration.

By Silvia Stöber, tagesschau.de

Face sunken, strands of hair in his forehead, gray stubble on his chin, eyes barely open. Former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has lost a lot of physical and mental strength, and he hardly seems responsive.

No comparison to his appearance in September 2021 at an event of diaspora Georgians in Hamburg. It was one of his last public appearances before returning to Georgia. There he was immediately arrested on the basis of a conviction for abuse of power. He has been in prison ever since.

Now, for the first time in a long time, he was present at the court case, which deals with further allegations against him – connected from a hospital where he has been housed since May because of his state of health. His lawyers requested that his sentence be suspended so that he could be treated abroad.

Relatives and supporters see him as a political prisoner. They accuse him of being poisoned. His life is in danger. A US expert found an increased concentration of heavy metals in his body.

Foreign personalities are also calling for his transfer from Georgia. Among them is the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Saakashvili had taken Ukrainian citizenship and formally lost Georgian citizenship so he could become governor of the Odessa region in 2015.

Degrading images

The allegations are directed at the ruling party “Georgian Dream”. Behind her is the wealthy businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili. In what is now the party’s third term in office, his confidants have occupied all the important posts in the state. In several cases, these are former employees of Ivanishvili’s company. According to the prevailing opinion in the country, the judiciary is under the control of a “clan of judges” who are in league with the ruling party.

Representatives of the ruling party accuse Saakashvili of simulating and refusing to cooperate with the judiciary. As evidence, the prison administration, the Justice Ministry and pro-government media released a video on December 14 showing Saakashvili for several days from October to December. It is evident, however, that his health is increasingly deteriorating.

The degrading images also caused outrage among those who oppose Saakashvili because of his authoritarian policies as president. Many had doubted that he was so seriously ill, as his lawyers repeatedly explained.

personal feud

The images from the courtroom are once again causing dismay, as Saakashvili has long been omnipresent as a hyperactive and dynamic politician. He turned 55 on Wednesday. The fear now is that Ivanishvili could go too far in his rivalry with the former president.

Since the businessman launched the “Georgian Dream” in the election campaign in 2012, he has given the impression of being in a personal feud with Saakashvili and his United National Movement party. Several of Saakashvili’s comrades-in-arms were sentenced to prison terms in court proceedings, which were also criticized internationally as being politically motivated.

With his political influence and wealth, which the US magazine “Forbes” estimates at around a third of Georgia’s gross domestic product, Ivanishvili has more power than anyone else in Georgia. But instead of bringing the country forward with capable politicians and civil servants, as promised, he relies primarily on loyalty and personal dependencies.

Entrepreneurs and corruption experts report on getting orders and buying votes. Ivanishvili himself is said to have recently secured a piece of the state forest. At the same time, former members of the government describe that nobody dares to make important decisions themselves. One always waits for a reaction from Ivanishvili.

On the wrong path

Ivanishvili and his comrades-in-arms are willing to jeopardize Georgia’s EU integration in order to stay in power. They are sticking to their plan of wanting to apply for EU membership in 2024 – in doing so they are responding to the will of a majority of the population. But they are not complying with the EU’s demands for compliance with and enforcement of democratic standards, for example in electoral legislation and the independence of the judiciary.

Therefore, unlike Moldova and Ukraine, Georgia was not granted EU candidate status this year. The EU Commission named twelve conditions so that Georgia can catch up with the other two next year. These include judicial reform, the independence of the anti-corruption authority and “de-oligarchization”.

Dealings with ex-president Saakashvili are being closely monitored in Brussels. The European Parliament passed a resolution on Georgia last week. It also states that the authorities bear full responsibility for Saakashvili’s health. He should be able to receive treatment abroad.

Numerous MPs, such as Green Party politician Viola von Cramon, are calling for EU candidate status to be made dependent on how Saakashvili is dealt with. Like all other prisoners, he is concerned with basic human rights. It was “absolutely urgent” to take care of Saakashvili’s health.

During the session, which lasted several hours, the court made no decision to suspend the detention. It was adjourned to December 29th.

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