Tests revealed the presence of another heavy metal in the body of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili – arsenic, the politician’s lawyer Shalva Khachapuridze told reporters on Monday.
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“We haven’t received any nail tests yet, they will come today. But during a telephone conversation, it turned out that another substance was detected – arsenic,” the lawyer told reporters.
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An examination of Saakashvili’s state of health and a toxicological study were previously carried out by foreign experts and doctors at the Office of the Ombudsman of Georgia.
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Earlier, Saakashvili’s lawyers and mother said that, according to an examination conducted by foreign experts and doctors at the Office of the Ombudsman of Georgia, the politician had an increased content of heavy metals in his body, including mercury.
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Saakashvili is undergoing treatment at a clinic in Tbilisi after a long hunger strike in prison. He was transferred there in May this year. Earlier, Georgian doctors at the ombudsman’s office and foreign experts conducted an examination of Saakashvili’s state of health, the final report is ready, but still not made public.
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Human rights activists have previously reported that Saakashvili’s condition has worsened since he was admitted to the clinic, he has lost 20 kilograms. Previously, his family members reported that doctors gave the policy about 17 different diagnoses. Saakashvili’s lawyer Shalva Khachapuridze reported that the politician’s left arm muscles were atrophied, he did not rule out that the politician might be diagnosed with more than 30 different diseases, including dementia and tuberculosis.
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Saakashvili was detained in Georgia on October 1, 2021, he is being investigated in several criminal cases. The politician was convicted in absentia in the cases of the murder of banker Sandro Girgvliani and the beating of deputy Valery Gelashvili. In the first case, Saakashvili was sentenced to three years in prison, in the second – to six. In addition, he is a defendant in cases of the dispersal of an opposition rally on November 7, 2007, the pogrom of the Imedi television company and the embezzlement of funds from the state budget – they are still being considered by the courts. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that Saakashvili will remain in prison for a long time, he will serve the entire term.
