If necessary, Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been on a hunger strike for the 22nd day, will be hospitalised in a prison hospital, and not in a private clinic, the Ministry of Justice decided. The authorities fear his supporters storming a private hospital and expect to mentally break him in uncomfortable conditions, said political analyst Vakhtang Maisaya.
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili returned to his homeland ahead of the municipal elections. On October 1, he was arrested, as he was sentenced in absentia to three years in jail regarding the case of abuse of power when pardoning those convicted of the murder of businessman Sandro Girgvliani and six years in the case of the 2005 beating of parliamentary deputy Valery Gelashvili. The former president was charged with illegal border crossing and four alleged accomplices were arrested. He was also faced with other charges. In addition, the prosecutor's office decided to interrogate the former president in the high-profile case of cartographers accused of selling a part of Georgian territory to Azerbaijan.
Saakashvili is in prison in Rustavi, where he has been on a hunger strike since October 1, demanding his release. The council recommended placing the former president in a clinic for intensive observation, and Saakashvili's supporters have repeatedly this during their protests. The politician himself said that he did not intend to end the hunger strike but agreed to receive medication as a last resort.
Saakashvili's personal doctor Nikoloz Kipshidze also opposed the transfer of his patient to the prison hospital. "The transfer to a prison hospital causes a number of problems - first of all, security. Security experts say that Saakashvili will not be safe there," Kipshidze's stated.
Saakashvili's supporters have repeatedly held protests, demanding his release. A particularly crowded rally organised by the United National Movement (UNM) took place in Tbilisi on October 14, but three opposition parties at once refused to participate. At the prison in Rustavi, where the former president is being held, rallies are held regularly to support him. However, on October 16, several hundred opponents of Saakashvili gathered at the prison. They demanded that he not be recognised as a political prisoner, that he is sentenced to life imprisonment, and that a ban is placed on the UNM. On October 21, representatives of the United National Movement staged an impromptu rally on the road to the village of Chorvila, which security forces cordoned off to prevent protesters from approaching the house of the leader of the Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili.
