Trial of ex-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili adjourned until November 29

The Tbilisi City Court began the trial in the case of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Wednesday, November 10. But the proceedings were quickly adjourned until the end of the month. 

Saakashvili stands accused in a case related to the dispersal of an opposition demonstration in November 2007, which left several hundred people injured.

The ex-president, who has been on a hunger strike in jail for 41 days, was not brought to court for the first hearing on Wednesday. Georgia’s penitentiary service stated that this decision was made in the interests of ensuring the ex-president’s safety.

“Saakashvili stopped treatment, and his transfer to the trial and his presence pose an additional risk to his health,” Georgia’s Justice Ministry said in a statement, as quoted by Russian state news agency TASS.

During the hearing, Saakashvili’s lawyer Beka Basilaia refused to take part in the proceedings until his client was brought to court. The trial was subsequently adjourned until November 29. 

Mikheil Saakashvili was president of Georgia from 2008 to 2013. He fled the country shortly before the end of his presidential term. Four criminal cases were subsequently opened against him and he was convicted in absentia on several counts of abuse of power in 2018.

On October 1, 2021, Saakashvili returned to Georgia for the first time in eight years and was taken into custody immediately. The jailed former president declared a hunger strike that same day. After 39 days on hunger strike, on November 8, Saakashvili was moved to a prison hospital. However, he has reportedly refused medical assistance.

After his return to Georgia, another criminal case was opened against Saakashvili for illegally crossing the country’s border.