The MEPs stressed that the treatment of Saakashvili is a litmus test of the Georgian government's commitment to European aspirations, including EU candidate status, which the country has not yet received.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on February 15, in which it called on the Georgian authorities to release the ex-president of the country and a citizen of Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili, to send him for treatment abroad and impose sanctions against the Georgian ex-premier, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.
This is stated in the message on the website of the European Parliament.
577 deputies voted for the resolution, 33 voted against, abstained – 26.
In the resolution, the MEPs expressed serious concern about Saakashvili's deteriorating health, sudden weight loss and the possibility that the politician was poisoned with heavy metals during his imprisonment.
Therefore, the signatories of the resolution called Georgian authorities release Saakashvili and allow him to receive proper treatment abroad. In addition, the deputies called on the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, to use the constitutional right and to pardon the ex-head of state.
The resolution also draws attention to Ivanishvili's fundamental role in the Saakashvili case “within the limits of a personal vendetta.” The European Parliament called on the European Council and democratic partners to consider the possibility of imposing sanctions against the ex-Prime Minister of Georgia for his role in “deteriorating the political process” in the country.
The EP MPs stressed that the progress towards European reforms in Georgia should again be placed at the center of politics. The treatment of Saakashvili is a litmus test of the Georgian government's devotion to European values and declared European aspirations, including the status of an EU candidate, which the country has not yet received.
Recall that on February 1, Saakashvili Tbilisi clinic Vivamedi showed on camera what he looks like after being in custody. The politician lost weight terribly, complained about his state of health and asked for adequate treatment.
The very next day, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on the Georgian authorities to immediately stop mocking Saakashvili and hand him over to Kyiv. The department announced appeals to foreign governments and international organizations with a call to stand publicly in defense of the ex-president of Georgia.
However, then the Tbilisi City Court did not satisfy the request to defer punishment or release Saakashvili for health reasons.
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