Georgia is waiting for an apology from the presidents of Ukraine and Moldova, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Maia Sandu, who criticized the country's authorities for the improper treatment of imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. The spokesman for the Georgian parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, said this on the air of the "Topical Issue" program on Channel One, UNN reports.
Papuashvili believes that the statements of the leaders of Ukraine and Moldova refute the report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the Council of Europe, which assesses the conditions of Saakashvili's detention in the Tbilisi clinic Vivamed.
"We found out that President Zelensky was lying when he accused Georgia of torturing Saakashvili, we found out that President Sandu was lying when she accused Georgia of torturing Saakashvili. We learned that MEPs who accused Georgia of torturing Saakashvili were also lying. Today we have learned that many Western politicians have disgraced themselves in front of Georgia and the Georgian people by falsely accusing Georgia of torturing Saakashvili. We have learned about this and therefore we expect these people to apologize, but sometimes it is less expected," Papuashvili said.
The speaker of the Georgian parliament claims that Saakashvili, who is in prison, "spent millions on lobbyists" - he ordered articles and TV reports, paid for political statements. Moreover, according to him, "American lobbyists" drafted and pushed several resolutions in support of the third president of Georgia to the European Parliament.
"I think we should think about what was the driving force behind Saakashvili, who was hiding in different countries when he was tried and convicted, and then sneaked into the country to cause unrest here and pit Georgians against each other on election day," Papuashvili said.
According to the report, the delegation of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture "did not hear any allegations of ill-treatment" of prisoners-patients by the staff of the Vivamed clinic. The report also emphasizes that patients in custody "have access to a wide range of medical services" and their material conditions are "generally adequate," according to Georgia News.
However, the committee pointed out the lack of professional independence of medical staff working with prisoners.
With regard to Mikheil Saakashvili, the delegation believed that the situation he was in was "depressing and humiliating, and not conducive to improving his health.