Georgia’s jailed ex-president Saakashvili claims beaten in prison hospital
Tbilisi, Nov 9 (EFE).- Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, jailed for corruption and abuse of power, on Tuesday claimed he was beaten at the prison’s hospital over a month into his hunger strike.
In a letter released by his lawyers, Saakashvili said he was tricked into going to the prison hospital on Monday.
“They got me out of the car, threw me to the ground and hit me several times on the neck. They dragged me by the hair and I, of course, resisted,” he added.
The Penitentiary Service, meanwhile, said on Tuesday that Saakashvili was transferred to a hospital attached to a prison “to prevent the deterioration of his health.”
The former president (2004-2013) began his hunger strike on 1 October after he was arrested following eight years of self-imposed exile to avoid justice. Georgian authorities, however, said he did not abstain from eating.
In 2018, Saakashvili was sentenced in absentia to three and six years in prison for corruption and abuse of power.
He also faces other charges punishable by up to 11 years in prison, including five for illegally entering Georgia on 29 September. EFE
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