The government should bear responsibility for Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition

We, the signatory organizations, respond to the fact that the health condition of the third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has extremely worsened. Despite the conclusion of the medical examination, the conclusion of the Public Defender’s Special Medical Council, and the call from the European parliamentarians, the authorities do not recognize the need to take immediate steps to protect the prisoner’s life and health. According to the Public Defender, Mikheil Saakashvili’s health condition already provides the basis for postponing the sentence.

The statements of the ruling party’s high-ranking officials are extremely outrageous and cynical, treating the possibility of the prisoner’s death with complete indifference. In particular, the Prime Minister of Georgia said that Mikheil Saakashvili’s life is “in the Lord’s hands” and “he cannot take responsibility for it”. The ruling party still does not acknowledge the aggravation of Saakashvili’s condition, and a number of members are waiting for Saakashvili’s death, one can say, with joy. Mikheil Saakashvili’s life was already in critical danger once before, the reason for which was exactly the unwillingness of the government to pay attention to the conclusion of the Public Defender’s Special Medical Council for weeks.

We believe that such an attitude towards the life and health of any prisoner is categorically inconsistent with Georgian and international law, as well as with the political goal of EU membership. Further worsening of Mikheil Saakashvili’s health condition and the lethal outcome will not only be the worst violation of human rights, but also a political collapse that will cause irreparable damage to Georgia’s reputation.

The signatory organizations call on the government to fully understand the state’s obligations in the field of basic human rights, to stop being indifferent to Mikheil Saakashvili’s serious health condition, and to take responsibility for saving his life and health. At the same time, we hope that the scheduled court hearings related to the postponement of the sentence will be held as soon as possible, and the court will be guided only by the interest of protecting the life and health of the detained individual.

The signatory organizations:

Open Society Georgian Foundation;
Georgian Court Watch
Human Rights Center;
Sapari;
International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy;
Prevention for Progress;
Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association;
Rights Georgia;
Transparency International Georgia;
Democracy Research Institute;
Georgian Democracy Initiative;
Social Justice Center;
Media Development Foundation;
Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture of Victims;
Foreign Policy Research Institute