Saakashvili Urges US, Western Countries To Do Everything Possible To Save His Life

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th April, 2023) Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is currently imprisoned, called on the United States and other Western countries to do everything possible to save his life, as he will die without medical treatment abroad.

"It is also increasingly apparent that I will die soon if I don't receive proper medical care outside of the country. I continue to call on the U.S. and the international community to do what they can to save my life," Saakashvili said in his letter to Politico, calling for exerting diplomatic pressure on the Georgian government and imposing economic sanctions against the founder of the country's ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The ex-Georgian president also said that without foreign help the human rights situation will continue to deteriorate in Georgia.

"Without the help of Congress and the Biden administration, alongside the EU and U.

K. parliaments, the current government will continue to turn a blind eye not only to democracy but the rule of law, and the fundamental pillars of human rights will continue to erode in Georgia," he said.

Saakashvili also thanked US senators Jeanne Shaheen and Dick Durbin, who requested to visit him in prison while they were visiting Georgia in February.

Saakashvili is a dual Georgian-Ukrainian citizen. In Georgia, he was sentenced in absentia to six years for involvement in the murder of a banker and an assault on a lawmaker. On October 1, the politician returned to Georgia and was immediately arrested. The Georgian prosecution revealed that Saakashvili entered the country illegally by crossing the border in a trailer carrying dairy products.

Saakashvili considers himself a political prisoner, and went on a hunger strike in October that lasted 50 days.