The Statement of RCT/Empathy on forensic report done according to the UN IP on the case of 3rd President of Georgia Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili

The Statement of RCT/Empathy on forensic report done according to the UN IP on the case of 3^rd President of Georgia Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili

The group of experts of the Centre Empathy, with the participation of 7 highly qualified, expert physicians of different specialties, has completed the work on the reports of the forensic medical and psychological examination according to the UN Istanbul Protocol guideline.

Hereby we publish summary conclusions and recommendations

It should be noted that Mikheil Saakashvili was subjected to various forms of degrading treatment, psychological pressure while in prison, and during his transfer to the 18^th Facility he was subjected to psychological torture as well as to physical torture and attempted involuntary medical intervention which made the patient to refuse the medical service, thus posing risk to his life and requires immediate action – transferring the patient to another civilian clinic. At the same time, due to the intensity and duration of the pressure, which is reflected in the duration of the hunger strike and the refusal of medical assistance, aimed at political revenge, discrimination against Mikheil Saakashvili and misinformation of the public, we believe that violations and the methods of violence used should be considered as torture of the detained politician.

Methods of torture used against Mikheil Saakashvili:   

Facility N 12: from 01/10/2021 to 08/11/2021.          

         Psychological methods:

        Deprivation, isolation; (solitary cell with video surveillance, window blinding, one day restricted confidential communication with lawyers, confidentiality achieved in writing)

       Ukrainian lawyer was not admitted to Georgia

       Verbal abuse, attempt to discredit: by the Prime Minister of Georgia, the Chairman of the ruling political party and other high-ranking officials.

       Disclosure of the video records of the medical prescription administration

       Video surveillance at the medical department

       Violation of medical confidentiality

       Lack of adequate medical care

       Discrimination on political grounds, manipulation with the health services

       Restriction of legal right to alternative medical opinion and expertise

       Attempts of degrading treatment and threats of transfer to the Facility N 18 (Prison Hospital, on the territory of the Prison N 8, where inmates serve as medical attendants and the criminal subculture dominates).

       Political persecution and political justice

Circumstances of transfer from the Facility N 12 to the Facility N 18 on 08/11/2021 and methods of psychological and physical torture as of 08 – 09/11/2021.  

       Transfer of the hunger striker from the facility N12 to the facility N18 by deceit, without informed consent.

       Misinformation of the lawyers and family members – no information was provided on the whereabouts of Mikheil Saakashvili for several hours.

       Misinformation of the members of the Medical Council and the patient Mikheil Saakashvili himself, presumably by the head of the Health Department of the Penitentiary Service Ms. Demurishvili.

        Noise and verbal abuse of the prisoner Mikheil Saakashvili on bringing into the Facility N 18 on the territory of the Prison N 8, which continues to the present day, probably and most likely carried out by the criminal subculture with the administration participation, inciting and/or tacit consent, and the hunger-striker prisoner is under such a psychological distress.

        Verbal violence, degrading treatment and threats by the staff at the Facility N 18.

        Attempt to carry out involuntary medical manipulation at the Facility N 18, which included both psychological and physical violence as the attempt to tie a bed, which was resisted by the hunger-striker prisoner.                          

       Attempt to misinform the public by the Minister of Justice Bregadze and his bias to the detriment of the prisoner’s interests.

       Physical violence: forcible removal from the vehicle and forcible bringing into the Facility N 18 by dragging on the ground. Blow to the neck, a tearing of clothes.

As a result of this impact, the starving prisoner, on the 40^th day of the hunger strike, refused to cooperate with the dubious medical staff of the so-called Prisoners Medical Facility N18, thus endangering his health and life.  

Also, the methods of torture and the statement of the Minister of Justice of Georgia confirming the political revenge that Mikheil Saakashvili allegedly insulted his staff and damaged equipment at the Facility N 18, and the attempt to discredit Mikheil Saakashvili, misinformation of the public, indicates that Mikheil Saakashvili is at risk of loss of life in the Georgian prison system. Public statements of high-ranking government officials in the chapter Free Narration also contain threats of political retaliation.  

Hereby we also explain that in order to transfer Mikheil Saakashvili to the 18^th Facility, located on the territory of the 8^th Prison in Gldani, mobilization and recruitment of medical staff was carried out during the last two weeks, and the issue of junior medical staff, whose functions were performed by the prisoners, still remains unclear. This clinic has been started to equip recently, which indicates that the clinic does not have the experience of teamwork required for intensive care and resuscitation, and Mikheil Saakashvili is the first patient to be placed here, which threatens to perform a medical experiment on the prisoner.    

Thus, the examinee was diagnosed with diagnoses/conditions that require attention, other diagnoses related to torture are not possible for the moment, we are not allowed to make a detailed diagnosis of the patient:

DS:

Z 65.4. Victim of torture

Z65.1. Imprisonment and other incarceration

Z65.3 Problems related to other legal circumstances Arrest

Z60.5. Target of perceived adverse discrimination and persecution

T73.0. Effects of hunger

The examinee is still on hunger strike, at the 18th Facility he was additionally subjected to psychological and physical torture, after which he continues his hunger strike and refuses medical intervention. At the very least, psychological torture against the examinee/patient continues.

Recommendations / Needs:

1. Examinee/patient, prisoner Mikheil Saakashvili needs immediate transfer from the Facility N 18 to a civilian multi-profile clinic intensive care unit and/or, if necessary, to the resuscitation department, as the risk of heart beat disorder as well as the risk of acute poly-organ failure and neuro-degenerative changes irreversible from a psycho-neurological point of view, is high under starvation. Intensive clinical-laboratory examinations, as well as MRI examination of the brain, EEG examination of the brain, CT screening, as well as safe environment and psychological/legal support required.              
2. In conditions of hunger, as well as in the conditions of continuous, at least, psychological torture at the Facility N 18, which is still going on as of 09/11/2021, due to which the examinee refuses medical services, there is a high risk of lethal outcome.      

Hereby we add the following information, which was spread by the media: according to the information of the TV 1, 09/11/2021: https://www.facebook.com/tvpirveli/photos/a.396809063811740/2136814839811145/^[1] “The person who insulted the third president of Georgia has been identified. The phrase “Hey, bird, we trapped you” belongs to Goga Ordenidze; Ordenidze himself is a former prisoner for taking a bribe – he was returned to the service of the Georgian Dream on the initiative of Kakhi Kakhishvili”; video available at: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=570005760896006^[2]

Also, in all probability, the junior medical personnel in the mentioned detention facility is still staffed with prisoners, the explanation of this is not made by any state agency. In such a situation, prisoner Saakashvili is at risk of losing his life.

     3.  Statements and actions of the Minister of Justice Mr. Bregadze, including the biased attitude towards prisoner Saakashvili, the fact of dogmatically accusing the prisoner without investigation (https://www.facebook.com/MinistryofJusticeofGeorgia/photos/a.581411818574070/4393472460701301/^[1] –  Rati Bregadze: “Mikheil Saakashvili physically and verbally abused our employees at the Facility N 18”), clearly indicates that the Georgian prison system is not safe for Mikheil Saakashvili, a Ukrainian citizen and politician, and that placing Mikheil Saakashvili into this system poses a threat to his life. The same is indicated by the statements of high-ranking Georgian government officials; especially threat containing are the statements of the Prime Minister about the increase of the sentence and the legal right to commit suicide (see Chapter V of the Conclusion for details).            

      4. It is necessary to conduct a full commission examination under the auspices of the Centre Empathy within the framework of an independent examination at the request of the examinee / patient, and to enable the above-mentioned group of experts to conduct a medical-psychological examination of Mikheil Saakashvili on the spot.

     5. Mikheil Saakashvili needs legal, as well as the state of health monitoring, as well as complex medical-psychological rehabilitation measures, due to which the mentioned group of experts continues to monitor the situation and requests admission to Mikheil Saakashvili with extended staff, there may be also physical injuries due to physical violence against the examinee in the Facilty N 18 on 08/11/2021.

In addition we emphasize that at this stage we consider the first priority task to stop the psychological torture of the examinee/patient, the prisoner and to provide a safe environment for his life, which, at least, cannot be done in the Facility N 18 and in the Georgian prison system in general.        

The report will be sent to the European Court of Human Rights. The full conclusion contains 75 pages and a 99 page appendix.

Centre Empathy

Mariam Jishkariani, Hotline, 599885468

[1] Statements and actions of the Minister of Justice Mr. Bregadze, including the biased attitude towards prisoner Saakashvili, the fact of dogmatically accusing the prisoner without investigation   (https://www.facebook.com/MinistryofJusticeofGeorgia/photos/a.581411818574070/4393472460701301/

[1] According to the information of the TV 1, 09/11/2021: https://www.facebook.com/tvpirveli/photos/a.396809063811740/2136814839811145/

[2] https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=570005760896006