how sick is he Soon life threatening? Or is he not doing so badly, at least that’s what his political opponents suspect. Mikhail Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, has been known for years: almost two meters tall, a strong, vigorous-looking man. Now there are these pictures of him, connected via video in a courtroom: unshaven and with tousled hair in the hospital bed, his face narrowed, he looks weak. Saakashvili is clearly emaciated, that cannot be overlooked. Within a year he lost 41 kilograms.
Saakashvili was sentenced in absentia to six years in prison in 2018 for abusing his power during his presidency from 2004 to 2013. His supporters and himself suspect that the verdict was politically motivated. When he surprisingly returned to his home country last autumn, he was arrested.
His health deteriorated in detention, he went on hunger strikes several times, and in May Saakashvili was transferred from a military clinic to a civilian hospital in the capital. At the beginning of December, an American team of doctors commissioned by the ex-president’s camp wrote in a report that there was probable poisoning with heavy metals, and that there was also talk of an unhealthy mixture of drugs, muscle atrophy, anorexia and anaemia. A few days ago he turned 55 years old. His health has been a big issue in Georgia for weeks, and not just there.
The ambassadors of the European Union and the United States in Tbilisi expressed concern and called on the Georgian government to protect the rights of the ailing ex-president. The European Parliament called for his release. Moldovan President Maia Sandu also wrote on Twitter that she was “deeply concerned” that the gravity of the situation made it necessary to take Saakashvili to a suitable hospital immediately “to save his life”.
Despite the war, Zelenskiy also joined the debate
Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, already busy defending his country against a rain of missiles from Russia, recently joined the debate. “Grace is needed, especially before Christmas,” Zelensky said in a video message shortly before the festival. “What is happening to Mikhail is atrocious. It doesn’t suit Georgia, it has to stop.” He even offered to take Saakashvili to a Ukrainian hospital, to another European country, or to the United States.
The Georgian ruling party “Georgia’s Dream”, on the other hand, considers the worrying reports to be exaggerated. She had a video released showing Saakashvili’s aggressive behavior towards the clinic staff. According to a report by Eurasianet.org, Georgia’s parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili said: “The doctors and the state want to see Mikhail Saakashvili healthy so that he can serve the remaining five years in prison for the crimes he has committed.” The government has so far refused to allow the former president to be taken abroad.
After a revolution, Saakashvili had become president with high hopes. He was trained as a lawyer in the USA and stood for radical reforms in the police and judiciary, which initially almost eliminated everyday corruption. However, his final years in office were seen as increasingly authoritarian, also marked by mass protests. Nevertheless, the peaceful change of power in 2012 after the admitted defeat of his ruling party was acknowledged as a great victory for Georgian democracy.
The model country falls behind Ukraine and Moldova
In recent years, however, the domestic political mood has deteriorated. The government and the opposition, which accuses the leadership of being too pro-Russian, are hardly forgiving. The mood is tense. From the EU’s point of view, the Saakashvili case now seems like confirmation of how polarized the situation in the Caucasus state is. When the European Union gave Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova the status of candidate countries in early summer, Georgia of all places, the former model country from Brussels’ point of view, fell a step behind. It received an accession perspective, but no candidate status yet. To do this, the country must first ensure the independence of the judiciary, step up the fight against corruption and strive to improve the political climate.
It doesn’t look like the latter at the moment. On Wednesday, one day before another hearing for Saakashvili, the head of the ruling party, Irakli Kobachidze, did not want to go into detail about the case of the imprisoned Mikhail Saakashvili. He only spoke of a “simulation”; it should only lead to President Salome Zurabischvili pardoning the ex-president.