Extremely debilitated Mikheil Saakashvili appeared before court on December 22 via video link to plead for his release or transfer abroad on health grounds.

The imprisoned former President of Georgia states that the sharp deterioration of his health condition is related to poisoning, which was ordered by Vladimir Putin of Russia.

“Putin really ordered me to be killed in prison. American toxicologists have determined that I was poisoned in prison and that this caused all my symptoms. I’m trying to hold on. Good luck in your noble cause,” Saakashvili writes to Mark Feygin,  Russian human rights activist and Putin critic, who hosts a popular pro-Ukraine YouTube channel  “Feigin-Live”.

The letter that Mark Feygin published was hand-written by Saakashvili.

In Georgia, the pressure on the government to transfer Mikheil Saakashvili abroad for treatment is getting stronger. Public appeals are published every day, signed by hundreds of political and public figures, while his supporters continue their hunger strike in the parliament.

Doctors, including the medical council gathered under the Public Defender’s umbrella, say that the health condition of the ex-president is critical and if not taken abroad for treatment, he may die.

The ruling political force, Georgian Dream, claims that in fact Saakashvili is faking illness and his life is not in danger.

According to Saakashvili’s human rights defenders, the ex-president is showing signs of poisoning and the deterioration of his condition is linked to this factor.

Extremely debilitated Mikheil Saakashvili appeared before court on December 22 via video link to plead for his release or transfer abroad on health grounds. The court reached no decision and scheduled further hearing on 29 December.