Georgian ex-president's lawyer claims sharp deterioration in politician's health

Georgian ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili’s lawyer Shota Tutberidze has said that an off-site trial over Saakashvili’s case in Tbilisi was not held because the ex-president’s health condition sharply deteriorated.

The trial was to be held at the Vivamed clinic, where Saakashvili is being treated, Tutberidze told reporters, Interfax reports.

“Representatives of the court and the prosecutor's office broke into the hospital without any prior warning and tried to get evidence from Saakashvili on October 4. Saakashvili’s health condition sharply deteriorated as a result of these illegal actions. The urgent medical care was rendered to him,” the lawyer said.

Prosecutor in this case Levan Vepkhvadze said that Saakashvili refused to testify in court, but the trial would continue on October 19.

The ex-president is on trial for illegally crossing the Georgian border on September 29, 2021. He secretly returned to the country and he was detained in Tbilisi on October 1. He was placed in a prison in Rustavi, where he went on a hunger strike.