23 MEPs Call EU Leaders to Sanction Georgian Officials Over Saakashvili

23 Members of the European Parliament have called on Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and High Representative Josep Borrell to “seriously consider sanctions against individuals who enabled the inhuman and degrading treatment” of jailed ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili.

The MEPs, in the letter dated November 19, highlighted that regardless of whether Saakashvili “is guilty of the accusations against him, his human rights and human dignity have to be respected.”

The missive highlighted that “as it currently stands, it seems that he is denied adequate medical treatment on political grounds.” It was not immediately clear if the letter was penned before the authorities offered to transfer Saakashvili to the Gori military hospital.

The MEPs cited the assessment of a group of medical experts assembled by the Public Defender that Gldani prison clinic was unfit for Saakashvili’s treatment, adding that the Government continued to refuse Saakashvili’s transfer to a civilian clinic despite recommendations by the “panel of doctors who fear he might die in prison if the situation remains unchanged.”

The joint missive also voices concern over the Special Penitentiary Service’s refusal to transfer Saakashvili for his court trials, as well as “the fact that European politicians have been refused the permit to visit Saakashvili in prison.”

“We believe that the European Union should also take urgent action because there is an imminent risk of irreparable harm,” the MEPs stressed.

See the full list of signatories here.

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