"He needs serious rehabilitation, I don't know if they can give Mikheil Saakashvili all the help he needs in this hospital"

"He needs serious rehabilitation, I don't know if they can provide all kinds of help to Mikheil Saakashvili in this hospital," said Evgeniy Grushovets, a Ukrainian lawyer for Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia's third president, after leaving the Gori hospital.

The lawyer says the 50-day hunger strike has left a significant mark on Mikheil Saakashvili and he needs serious treatment. Grushovets says he should now meet with Georgian lawyers and work out a joint plan.

"The Mikheil Saakashvili I saw in Ukraine and the Mikheil Saakashvili I met today are two different people. Given his condition, I do not think he will be able to defend his rights properly during the trial. The hunger strike has left a big mark on him. He needs serious rehabilitation. I don't know if they can give Mikhail Saakashvili all the help he needs in this hospital.

He has written several statements right now in his room and I brought them out; these statements will help us protect his rights. Now we have to meet with the doctors and Georgian lawyers and work out an action plan with them.

I am outraged that because of the events of 2006-2007 the man was sentenced in 2018 and will be serving his sentence in 2021. Moreover, this is not a fair trial based on the rule of law.

In a fair trial, it should be ascertained whether the crime actually took place or it was just a tool of political pressure. We find politically motivated cases disguised by laws in many countries. Our goal is to give a proper legal assessment of the Saakashvili case," said Grushovets