The signatory organizations respond to the developments during the transfer of the third President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, to Gldani Medical Facility N18, and believe that the process contradicts the principles of basic human rights to life, health, and personal safety and creates additional risks to escalate existing political crisis and polarization.

Mikheil Saakashvili has been on a hunger strike for 40 days since his arrest. Noteworthy, he stopped taking the vitamins, medications, and food supplements on November 6, which he was taking following the recommendations of medical staff. The convict's decision was preceded by statements made by the ruling team about the authenticity of the hunger strike,^[1] followed by a public release of a video by the Penitentiary Service showing the third president receiving food supplements under the supervision of medical staff.^[2] Disseminating information about a convict on hunger strike in this form, which was intended to give the impression that the hunger strike did not take place, is clearly contrary to all international principles or recommendations related to hunger strike and also violates the principle of protection and inviolability of privacy. The management of the starvation process by medical personnel should be based on the approach that he is a patient and the starting point of the state's actions should be the protection of his life and health and not the manipulation of public opinion.

On the third day after the discontinuation of the supplements, on the evening of 8^th November, the media reported that the third president was no longer in the N12 Penitentiary Institution due to a deteriorating health condition.^[3] For 70 minutes, state agencies did not provide family members, lawyers, and Ombudswoman^[4] with information about the convict's whereabouts or state of health, which is in direct conflict with national law.^[5]

Later, the Special Penitentiary Service issued a statement, according to which the convict Mikheil Saakashvili was transferred to Gldani N18 medical facility. The recommendations adopted by the Medical Concilium on November 8 reportedly called for the transfer of Saakashvili to a multidisciplinary medical facility.^[6] It should also be noted that the Public Defender has assessed the readiness of the N18 Facility to provide relevant services in the dynamics during the last two weeks.^[7] According to today's statement, the Public Defender reiterates that the N18 Medical Facility does not meet the requirements for a multidisciplinary clinic.^[8]

As for the security risks, the protection of the right to life and health of a starving prisoner when there is a medical indication to transport him to a civilian sector clinic cannot be limited to the principle of unreasonable and abstract danger. Especially when these risks are not directed to the safety of the convict, but the prevention of his/her escape, execution of the sentence, or other objectives/interests, rather than the protection of human life or health. Moreover, the risks that may be seen as a legitimate basis for restricting a convict's transfer to a particular medical facility arise in connection with the Gldani N18 facility. This was pointed out by the convict himself and his lawyers, and therefore, it is completely unjustified to place him in a penitentiary institution. It should also be noted that numerous reports on the penitentiary system^[9] have raised concerns about the existence of a criminal subculture in prisons and its use/promotion by the administration of institutions for their informal governance. Increased influences of the criminal subculture in penitentiary institutions^[10] endanger the physical and psychological inviolability of prisoners,^[11] and, remarkably, the prosecution usually does not respond effectively to crimes committed by criminal subcultures and the employees of penitentiary institutions. Consequently, the presence of Mikheil Saakashvili in the N18 medical facility poses a real threat to him from other prisoners, both physically and psychologically. The existence of such threats has already been confirmed by the footage spread by the media on the evening of November 8, 2021,^[12] which demonstrates the aggressive shouts of one part of prisoners of the N18 institution towards Mikheil Saakashvili.

In addition, the general political background that accompanies these events should be taken into account. The transfer of Mikheil Saakashvili to Gldani 18th Medical Institution in this form increases the risk of escalation of the situation, which may cause irreparable damage to the country's peace and the prospects for democratic development.

To this end, the signatory organizations call on the government:

• To immediately ensure the transfer of Mikheil Saakashvili from the penitentiary system to a medical facility following the standards outlined in the report of the multifunctional group of doctors and to ensure full protection of his life and health, as well as personal safety;
• to take effective steps to de-escalate the situation and start a dialogue with the political opposition;

The organizations also call on the opposition:

• Stay within the framework of peaceful assembly and expression and avoid escalation of the situation.

Signatory Organizations:

• Social Justice Center
• Georgian Young Lawyers Association (Gyla)

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