Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria said ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili was receiving small amounts of juices and purees for medical purposes from October 30 at the request of the Head of the Medical Department of the Special Penitentiary Service and the medical staff of the institution.

According to Lomjaria, the product was delivered to Saakashvili by medical staff, who explained that it could not be evaluated as food and in small doses, their intake in liquid form is due to the patient’s state of health.

According to the Public Defender, Mikheil Saakashvili has been on a continuous hunger strike since October 1, 2021 and has not received any food.

“The representatives of the Public Defender of Georgia, during their visit to the N12 penitentiary on November 6, 2021, got acquainted with the health condition of the former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, talked to the medical staff, studied the latest information / documents about his hunger strike and met with Mikheil Saakashvili.

As a result of the visit, it was determined that from October 30, 2021, at the request of the head of the medical department of the Special Penitentiary Service and the medical staff of the institution, he was receiving small amounts of juices and purees for medical purposes. This product was supplied by the medical staff themselves, who explained that it could not be evaluated as food and in small doses, their intake in liquid form is due to the state of health of the patient. This is confirmed by the medical forms about the patient’s hunger, where there is no indication of the patient’s food intake, nor is there any change in the patient’s form of hunger, which is necessary in case of food intake by the prisoner.

According to the information received, Mikheil Saakashvili has been on a continuous hunger strike since October 1, 2021 and has not received any food.

According to Mikheil Saakashvili, from today he refused to take all kinds of juices, glucose and electrolytes, medicines and part of treatment, as well as a number of examinations. The reason for this is the spread of information as if he was eating.

The Public Defender believes that the dissemination of incorrect information of such content to the public harms not only the legal status of a particular person, but of all prisoners. Such an attitude may lead hunger striker prisoners to refuse all kinds of fluids and medicines, which will further aggravate their health condition. However, the release of such information is a major blow to prisoners’ confidence in medical staff – Mikheil Saakashvili was told that taking fluids and supplements was a medical necessity and a substitute for medication, although the Justice Minister later said it went beyond his medical purpose.

In addition, the Public Defender will study the issue of issuing and publishing a special category of personal data on the conditions of detention and health of Mikheil Saakashvili by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, and if necessary, will apply to the State Inspector to take appropriate measure,” reads the statement.

Law enforcers arrested Mikheil Saakashvili in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on October 1. He has been on a hunger strike since the very first day of his arrest.