Health fears for Georgia’s jailed ex-leader Mikheil Saakashvili after TV footage shows emaciated appearance
- The former president is said to have lost 60kg after being imprisoned on abuse of power charges, which rights groups have denounced as politically motivated
- His emaciated appearance prompted Ukraine’s Zelensky to tell the Georgian ambassador to ‘save’ Saakashvili, who is a Ukrainian citizen
Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili appeared on television for the first time in months on Monday, looking frail and emaciated, fuelling concerns over the detained politician’s treatment.
The 55-year-old – who before jail was a large man – was almost unrecognisable and looked like a ghost of his former self. The images prompted war-torn Ukraine – of which Saakashvili is a citizen – to summon the Georgian ambassador, asking him to go to Tbilisi to help “save” Saakashvili.
Leader of the Caucasus country from 2004 to 2013, Saakashvili was jailed after returning from exile on abuse of power charges that rights groups denounce as politically motivated.
Doctors have said Saakashvili risks dying from conditions he has developed while in custody, though Georgian authorities say he is being given adequate medical care.
Appearing via video link for a court hearing on the “abuse of office” charges, Saakashvili, 55, lifted his shirt to show his ribs protruding from his chest, a hollow abdomen, and skin clinging tightly to his bones.
