Rati Bregadze: Ministry of Justice Not Responsible for Prisoner's Self-Harm
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Minister of Justice Rati Bregadze stated that there is no 'objective' reason for transferring the third president Mikheil Saaakshvili to the intensive care unit.
"According to yesterday's statement of the Director of Vivamed, the patient does not have a swallowing disorder or any other interfering mechanism that may exist for food intake. The convict was offered parenteral nutrition, which he categorically refuses and states that he will accept such nutrition only if he is transferred to the intensive care unit.
The patient's physiological parameters remain within the norm, even if the mass index does not correspond to the treatment parameters in the intensive care unit, which ultimately means that there is no objective reason to transfer Mikheil Saakashvili to the intensive care unit," he said.
The Minister of Justice said that an 'active campaign' to transfer Mikheil Saakashvili to the intensive care unit has been underway for 2 days, which, according to him, serves the purpose of forming 'incorrect' public perceptions about the state of health with artificially intensifying the emotional background, and intentionally presenting the fair actions of the state in an unfair manner.
"As part of the above-mentioned campaign, Mikheil Saakashvili's lawyer and members of his political team deliberately spread false information yesterday that the prisoner was transferred to the intensive care unit. In matters of treatment, the opinions of the medical staff are reliable for us, and not baseless statements aimed at misleading the society of politically engaged persons," said Bregadze.
Minister Bregadze said that the Ministry of Justice and authorities are only responsible for 'proper' performance of their duty and called on everyone responsible for supporting 'self-harm' of imprisoned Saakashvili.
"We can only be responsible for the proper performance of our duty, but we cannot be responsible in any way for the prisoner's self-harm, which is manifested in his selective intake of non-caloric food and regular non-fulfillment of medical prescriptions," he said.
Bregadze also called on 'responsible' groups to urge Mikheil Saakashvili to follow medical recommendations:
"Based on the best interests of the prisoner's health, we call on everyone to immediately stop supporting the self-harm of the prisoner Mikheil Saakashvili, urge him to follow medical recommendations beneficial to his health, and stop politicizing the issue of execution of the sentence. Georgia is a legal state which, on the one hand, protects the rights of the prisoner, and at the same time, ensures the enforcement of the law, which in this case is due to the execution of the sentence," said Bregadze.
