Former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili not only has a place in Georgian history, but he also has a place, a major and highly respectable one, in Polish history. It was the late Lech Kaczyński who rushed to the aid of his government in 2008. It was he, in turn, who overcame a thousand obstacles to get to the President’s funeral in April 2010.

Today Saakashvili is in Georgian custody and conducting a protest hunger strike. He was detained when he returned to the country after several years; the current authorities detained him, accusing him of organising a „provocation”:

Saakashvili planned to gather up to 10,000 of his supporters in Tbilisi to protest against allegedly rigged local elections. The police would then have to detain him, and one version involved the liquidation of several opposition leaders to shift responsibility to the authorities

— says Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, as quoted by Interfax-Ukraine. The situation in the country is indeed tense, but such allegations sound purely political. And they appear to be a mere pretext.

Ukrainian human rights spokeswoman Lyudmyla Denisova visited former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in prison in the Georgian town of Rustavi on Wednesday.

„Saakashvili is getting weaker every day. He has suffered four critical situations during his detention. He receives minimal medical assistance in Rustavi prison, but no major help can be provided by the penitentiary facility”

— said Denisova to journalists, quoted by Interfax-Ukraine.

As she added, Saakashvili is against being hospitalized in the prison hospital. He believes that this would not be safe for him. The spokeswoman conveyed that from Thursday Saakashvili’s health condition will be monitored by a doctor specialising in intensive care.

„We hope that the Georgian authorities will allow our doctor to meet Saakashvili”

— said Denisova.

Saakashvili has announced that he does not intend to stop his protest hunger strike - writes the portal Echo Kavkaza.

He considers himself to be Putin’s prisoner”

— added the spokeswoman.

A special statement on the matter was issued by the group of European Conservatives and Reformists, which includes the Law and Justice party.

Saakashvili was devoted to Poland at a time when it was not profitable, when it involved risks, when it required courage. Today, we should also remember about him. This politician in particular deserves to be treated with dignity and honesty. Also on account of his work for Georgia.

Tłum. K.J.