Georgia to allow doctors from abroad to treat Saakashvili

The Special Penitentiary Service will not go against the involvement of foreign doctors in the medical care of the convicted former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, the Georgian Justice Ministry said.

In its statement, the ministry explained that in November 2022 it had offered Mikheil Saakashvili to bring doctors from abroad to participate in his treatment at the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi.

Any doctor, “invited directly” by Saakashvili’s family, who satisfies the preconditions defined by the Georgian legislation, can participate in the former President’s treatment, the ministry added.

Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi in October 2021 after his clandestine return to Georgia. He has been serving a six-year term for two separate cases of abuse of power while in office, with three other cases involving his term pending.