Public Defender Levan Ioseliani visits Mikheil Saakashvili in 'Vivamed' clinic
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
According to the statement of the Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, he spoke to Mikheil Saakashvili for an hour at the Vivamed clinic and he confirmed to Saakashvili that all monitoring mechanisms that exist in the Office of the Public Defender will be maintained.
"Yesterday, I visited all the prisoners who are in the clinic Vivamed, including Mikheil Saakashvili. We talked for almost an hour. The doctors were not there yesterday and I had no contact with them. I confirmed that all the monitoring mechanisms that exist in the Office of the Public Defender will be maintained. These are: Consilium, supervision of his health condition," said Levan Ioseliani.
Ioseliani was asked about Saakashvili's health condition by reporters, to which Ioseliani said that neither the mandate nor the knowledge allows him to make a medical assessment.
"When I entered, Mikheil Saakashvili was laying down, I can't tell you anything else. He didn't find speaking difficult and we talked normally. I cannot assess his condition. Obviously, he is thinner compared to before. It would be wrong to assess this further because neither my mandate nor my knowledge allows for a medical assessment," said Ioseliani.
The public defender also mentioned that he is going to meet the members of the medical council at the office of the Public Defender this week.
"I am going to meet these people. I will find out with them what their plans are regarding Mikheil Saakashvili because it is their prerogative when they visit and how they assess his condition. We only help with this. The public defender, within the scope of his mandate, which the law allows, can invite specialists, and they are invited. The rest should be evaluated by them. I will meet them this week," said Ioseliani.
When asked about Polish doctors visiting Saakashvili, Levan Ioseliani said that he does not have any information on this matter.
"I can't tell you anything, Saakashvili asked me about it and I don't have any information. We do everything within the framework of our mandate, and this is a matter for the government to decide, in which I cannot interfere," said Levan Ioseliani.
