00:00 Mikheil Saakashvili appeared by video link up at a Belize court on Monday
00:05 from the prison hospital where he remains confined.
00:08 The former Georgian president's face was visibly thin.
00:12 On camera he raised his t-shirt to reveal an emaciated torso.
00:16 But he was still defiant.
00:18 "I have committed no crime.
00:22 Georgia has never had a guilty president.
00:24 I want everyone to understand this."
00:28 The images broadcast on Georgian TV raised further worries about the state of Saakashvili's health.
00:35 His supporters say his condition has deteriorated since his arrest in 2021
00:41 and a 50-day hunger strike last year.
00:43 He has lost 60 kilos and is suffering from heavy metal poisoning,
00:49 diagnosed by his doctors last November.
00:51 Ukraine, of which Saakashvili is also a citizen,
00:55 has accused the Georgian government of torturing him.
00:58 In protest, Volodymyr Zelensky summoned the Georgian ambassador
01:02 and asked for Saakashvili's repatriation.
01:04 "Once again, I call on Georgian authorities
01:09 to transfer the Ukrainian citizen, Mikheil Saakashvili, to Ukraine."
01:13 Kyiv sees Georgia's current government as enthralled to Moscow,
01:19 for whom Saakashvili has long been a thorn in the side.
01:22 Belize says Saakashvili is getting appropriate care
01:26 and condemned what it called an "extreme diplomatic escalation".
01:29 Further afield, the Council of Europe considers Mikheil Saakashvili a political prisoner.
Comments