With 577 votes in favor, 33 against with 26 abstentions, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Wednesday calling on Georgia to release former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Saakashvili, who has been serving a six-year prison sentence for abuse of power since 2021, has become increasingly topical in recent weeks due to his deteriorating health after launching several hunger strikes and denouncing a poisoning attempt.
Expressing grave concerns about Saakashvili’s health – noting reports of his dramatic weight loss- and taking note of reports that he might have suffered from heavy metal poisoning in prison, MEPs urged in a resolution Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili to use her constitutional powers to pardon the former president and reduce the political polarization in the country.
After countries such as Poland offered to take him in, they also asked for Georgia to allow Saakashvili to receive proper medical treatment abroad, warning that his case should be a litmus test for its EU aspirations.
EU candidate status has so far not been granted to Georgia so MEPs stress that Georgia’s progress with European reforms must be put back on the center stage of politics.
While recognizing Ukraine and Moldova as candidates to join the bloc, the European Union considered Georgia only as its European perspective so the treatment of the prisoners in the country is treated is a litmus test for the Georgian government’s commitment to European values and its stated European aspirations.
Georgian authorities were reminded of the responsibility – in line with the country’s constitution and international commitment – to respect Saakashvili’s fundamental rights and personal dignity, to ensure his health and well-being, and to provide him with adequate medical treatment.
Moreover, they reiterated the EP’s call on the European Council and democratic partners to consider imposing sanctions on oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili for his role in the deterioration of the political process in Georgia, underlining the fundamental role that he has played in Saakashvili’s ongoing detention as a personal vendetta.
