If former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili (54) does not receive the appropriate care, he is at risk of death. So says a group of independent doctors. After two hunger strikes, Saakashvili’s health is very fragile.
Saakashvili was president from 2004 to 2013 and returned to Georgia on October 1, after eight years of exile in Ukraine. The authorities immediately arrested him on a conviction for abuse of power.
In protest against the politically motivated conviction, the former pro-Western head of state went on a 50-day hunger strike. He ended it on November 20. At the end of February, a second hunger strike followed, which lasted 20 days.
Posttraumatic stress disorder
A group of independent doctors who examined Saakashvili in captivity said on Friday that he suffers from neurological disorders. These include Wernicke’s syndrome (a potentially fatal brain disease due to a severe deficiency of vitamin B1) and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The doctors are asking that the 50-year-old be quickly transferred to a hospital, where he would no longer be exposed to stress factors. If that doesn’t happen, they say he is at risk of multiple organ dysfunctions, which can be fatal. “Saakashvili urgently needs appropriate medical treatment outside the prison,” said Marjam Yishkaryani, one of the doctors.
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He just needs to eat some eggs and fresh cheese and everything will be fine
So far, the Georgian authorities have ignored doctors’ concerns. The leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobachidze, said this week that Saakashvili is “not satisfied with the drop in his standard of living” since he was imprisoned. “He just needs to eat some eggs and fresh cheese and everything will be fine.”
Russia now also threatens Moldova: a country the size of Belgium, pieced together by the Soviets (+)
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