Georgia's ex-President Saakashvili returned to prison after medical treatment

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, convicted on multiple charges, has been transferred from the Vivamedi Clinic in Tbilisi back to Rustavi Prison, Georgian media report, citing the Special Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice.

Saakashvili had been receiving treatment at the clinic since May 2022.

“Since the health condition of the convict Mikheil Saakashvili is satisfactory and he no longer requires inpatient treatment, he has been discharged from the civilian clinic and returned to Penitentiary Institution No. 12, where he will continue serving his sentence under normal conditions,” the ministry said.

The Penitentiary Service emphasised that the decision was made in accordance with Georgian law and based on the attending physician’s assessment.

“Returning a patient from a civilian hospital to a penitentiary facility is carried out taking into account his health condition and based on the treating doctor’s decision,” the statement said.

Since his arrest on 1 October 2021, Saakashvili spent less than six months in a regular prison cell, with the remainder of his detention in medical facilities — first in a prison clinic, then at the Gori Military Hospital, and since May 2022 at Vivamedi in Tbilisi.

By Vugar Khalilov