Health Minister: I’ll task Regulatory Agency to recheck a prison clinic

Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze says that she will task the Regulatory Agency to recheck conditions in Prison No.18 clinic, where Georgia’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili may be taken due to worsened health.  

Saakashvili has been on hunger strike since his arrest in Tbilisi on October 1.  

He is ready to be taken to hospital, but not to a prison hospital.  

Tikaradze’s statement comes on the heels of the announcement of Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria earlier today that the prison clinic lacks equipment for comprehensive health checks.  

“If the clinic hospital does not fully meet the needs of Saakashvili, then other inmates’ health might also stand at risk. It is important for me for all patients’ interests to be equally protected,” Tikaradze said.  

The Georgian PM and justice minister says that the prison clinic is well-equipped and there is the possibility of treatment of all types of patients.