Doctor Says Saakashvili’s State is Close to Fatal Outcome, Ombudsman Addresses the Strasbourg court
By The Messenger Staff
Thursday, November 18
The Council of Physicians created by the Ombudsman has prepared a report on Mikheil Saakashvili.
They visited the ex-president and talked to the doctors of Gldani prison, as well as got acquainted with the infrastructure.
Doctors at the Consilium said they had unanimously agreed that the Gldani 18th Prison Hospital was ‘not poorly equipped’, but that it was still not ready to treat a patient like Mikheil Saakashvili.
According to Dr. Giorgi Grigolia, Mikheil Saakashvili's condition is critical, as he has been on hunger strike for 48 days.
“He has signs of encephalopathy, he has resistant hypokalemia, or a lack of potassium, he has low hemoglobin, which in combination with thalassemia poses a threat. He also mentions gastroenterological bleeding,” said Giorgi Grigolia.
He explains that hunger damages not only one of the organs, but also the organ systems, and when the body's resources are depleted, vital functions begin to deteriorate, so at this stage human treatment is difficult and "in many cases it can be fatal.”
“Intensive care cannot be performed by a resuscitator or anesthesiologist or therapist alone. Multi-profile specialists are needed in such cases: internal medicine specialists, nephrologists, endocrinologists, gastroenterologists. This clinic does not have such doctors. They can be called on the spot, but they are not available 24 hours a day,” says the doctor.
Giorgi Grigolia, a member of the Council of Physicians created by the Public Defender, says that at this stage of Saakashvili's hunger strike there is very little time left until the fatal state.
The ombudsman formally requested the Strasbourg court to involve a third party in the interim proceedings.
According to Nino Lomjaria, if the request is met, they will be able to submit to the European Court of Human Rights the information they have about Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition.
The ombudsman said this was the first time their office had made a similar request to the ECHR.
The ruling party has so far refused to transfer Mikheil Saakashvili to a civilian clinic. The Minister of Justice claims that the Strasbourg court did not satisfy the request to transfer Saakashvili to the civil clinic.
