Imprisoned ex-President of Georgia looks haggard and weak in a televised speech in court in Tbilisi

An image comparing Mikheil Saakashvili's appearance in 2017 with the latest images of him appearing in court via video link. Photo: Anatoly Stepanov/Reuters

On Tuesday, Kiev ordered the Georgian ambassador to temporarily leave the country, accusing Tbilisi of mistreating the imprisoned ex-president and citizen of Ukraine Mikheil Saakashvili.

The ruling party of Georgia, which considered sympathetic to the Kremlin, criticized Ukraine's decision, calling the move «insulting».

Earlier this week, Mr. Saakashvili, President of Georgia from 2004 to 2013, appeared on television for the first time in months, emaciated and weakened.

A 55-year-old man who was detained on his return to Georgia from exile in Ukraine in 2021 — since his arrest in October 2021, he has lost more than half of his body weight.

screen via video link from a clinic during a court hearing in Tbilisi. Photo: AFP

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had summoned the Georgian ambassador and called Tbilisi's treatment of Saakashvili «absolutely unacceptable.»

Georgian authorities must stop torturing a citizen of Ukraine,» the statement said.

Saakashvili's images in court on Tuesday prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to demand that the Georgian authorities «rescue» the former leader.

On Tuesday, Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, told reporters that Ukraine's actions are «offensive».

“But we want to remain friends with Ukraine, even unilaterally, because the country is at war,” he added.

The Georgian authorities insist that the former president receives proper medical care and downplay the risks to his health. Credit: Reuters Mr. Zelenskiy said he wanted Mr. Saakashvili, whom he made a Ukrainian citizen in 2019, transferred to a clinic in Ukraine or the West.

The pro-Western reformer has been imprisoned after returning from exile on charges of abuse of power that human rights groups denounce as politically motivated.

Georgian authorities insist he is receiving proper medical care. He is in a civilian hospital.

They downplay the risks to his health, claiming that he deliberately refuses to eat enough food to recover from a 50-day fast he led to protest his imprisonment.< /p

Georgia's main opposition party, the United National Movement, founded by Mr. Saakashvili, announced a rally on Tuesday evening demanding his release.

The European Union and the United States called on Georgia to ensure that Mr. Saakashvili -Saakashvili is receiving medical attention and that his rights are being protected.

The Council of Europe's human rights body branded Mr. Saakashvili a «political prisoner» and Amnesty International described his treatment as «clear political revenge.»< /p>