The government of Georgia is responsible for health and life of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, said Anna Fotyga a member of the European Parliament during a press conference on Saturday.

“I came to Georgia to visit the third president of the country, Mikheil Saakashvili. We have information about his decision regarding the hunger strike and I am concerned about the duration of his hunger strike and his state of health. I am also informed about the ongoing solidarity hunger strikes by people like, for example, Elene Khoshtaria. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to visit her in Parliament. I advised her and I want her to end her hunger strike due to her health condition. Georgia needs people like Elene Khoshtaria.

As you know, I have been observing the situation in Georgia for a long time and, as a rule, I call myself a friend of Georgia and the Georgian people. I considered it my obligation to come to visit Mikheil Saakashvili.

As a rule, I used to get consent from the Georgian Dream government, but this time I was refused by the Ministry of Justice, which is unfortunate, because I consider myself an experienced person and I know very well that in the case of a high-ranking prisoner, many voices may be heard – the prisoner’s relatives are emotional in assessing the situation, while the other party responsible for the detention also usually has an interest in providing partial information to the public.

Of course, in the international community, in the European Parliament, where I work, we will assess this situation and my information and the information of the Lithuanian parliamentarians, who were also refused, will be valuable and will have a special value. Consequently, in this very delicate case, we want to provide really accurate information.

According to MEP Anna Fotyga, it is not her purpose to stand on either side but she just wants to help Georgia.

“It is not my job to stand on either side, to support either side, I am not going to go to mass rallies, I just want to help Georgia. I try to rely on the statements of people like the Public Defender. We have been in contact with each other. I was also in contact with Mikheil Saakashvili’s mother, I talked to his personal doctor, we had direct contact with his lawyers and we also discussed the situation with political leaders. I visited the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia to share my messages with him in order to deliver these messages to the ruling party and decision-makers,” Anna Fotyga said.

European Parliament member Anna Fotyga was barred from visiting jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili at the N18 Gldani prison infirmary on November 12.