Emaciated and imprisoned, ex-president Saakashvili tells Georgian court he is spiritually fit

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili appeared severely emaciated on Monday in videolink testimony to a court considering an abuse-of-power case against him. He and his supporters claim he was poisoned in prison and has lost half of his body weight since he was arrested in October 2021. Speaking from the private clinic where he is being held, Saakashvili said he was “spiritually fit and determined to serve the country,” according to local news site Agenda. Saakashvili, who left Georiga after the end of his second term in 2013, was convicted in absentia of abuse of power and sentenced to six years in prison. He was arrested on his return to the country.