Parliament Speaker: “Zelenskyy, Sandu, and MEPs Lied about Saakashvili’s Torture”

19/01/2024 - 23:20

On January 18, during an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili asserted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Moldovan President Maia Sandu, and Members of the European Parliament had made false accusations against Georgia regarding the alleged torture of Saakashvili.

“Today, we learned that President Zelenskyy was lying when he was accusing Georgia of torturing Saakashvili; we learned that President Sandu was lying when she was accusing Georgia of torturing Saakashvili; we learned that the MEPs were lying when they were accusing Georgia of torturing Saakashvili,” Papuashvili asserted, citing the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) report on Saakashvili’s health as supporting evidence.

“Today, we found out that numerous Western politicians have embarrassed themselves in front of Georgia and its people by baselessly accusing Georgia of torturing Saakashvili,” Speaker Papuashvili continued, expressing the expectation, though he considered it unlikely, that these individuals, namely Zelenskyy, Sandu and the MEPs, would apologize.

Papuashvili said that doctors are to decide whether Saakashvili should be transfered to the penitentiary facility. He also asserted that there will be “no redemption” for Saakashvili and that he must be held accountable for his crimes before the Georgian people. “The victims of his regime deserve the rule of law to be upheld.”

The report prepared by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) was based on its visit to the Vivamed clinic in March 2023. The report says the situation in which ex-President Saakashvili is being held “is oppressive, degrading and not conducive to improving his health condition.”

The report reads: “As things stand at present, despite the overall acceptable living conditions and the availability of a range of medical specialists and treatments, the three secure wards of VivaMedi clinic fail to offer a proper therapeutic environment, due to the final word on all essential matters belonging to custodial (and not healthcare) staff and to the total lack of respect to patients’ privacy and medical confidentiality.”

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