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Mikhail Saakashvili is imprisoned in his home country for abuse of office
Photo:
IRAKLI GEDENIDZE / REUTERS
The imprisoned Georgian ex-president and opposition leader Mikhail Saakashvili is in a prison hospital after several weeks of hunger strike.
The prison authorities announced on Monday that Saakashvili had been transferred to a medical facility for inmates "to prevent his health from deteriorating."
There is also an increased risk to his security.
After eight years in exile, the opposition leader returned to Georgia in early October and was immediately arrested.
During his presidency from 2004 to 2013 he had followed a pro-Western course.
In 2018 he was sentenced in absentia to six years in prison for abuse of office.
Saakashvili, who now has Ukrainian citizenship, rejects the accusation as politically motivated.
He immediately went on a hunger strike after his arrest.
"High risk of complications"
Saakashvili's supporters wanted to demonstrate in Tbilisi on Monday evening for his transfer to a civilian hospital.
Doctors had previously stated after an examination of Saakashvili that there was a "high risk of complications".
He urgently needs to be treated in a "very well-equipped clinic."
Saakashvili lived in Ukraine before returning to Georgia.
There President Volodymyr Zelenskyi had appointed him head of the Executive Committee for Reforms.
That had caused considerable resentment in Georgia.
svs / AFP
