Former Prime Minister's Health under Question

Former Georgian Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili was taken out of prison for the fifth time to be examined in the hospital. In the MediClub Georgia clinic, where Merabishvili was taken, his lawyers are tp take official documents with a doctor’s conclusion about the state of health of their client, which has reportedly worsened.

Information about the deterioration of Merabishvili's health spread in mid-August. According to the Ministry of Justice, the ex-head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has vasomotor rhinitis(an inflammation of the membranes inside the nose), Horner’s syndrome (resulting in a decreased pupil size, a drooping eyelid and decreased sweating on the affected side of the face), and blepharoconjunctivitis (an irritation and inflammation of the eyelids, and an irritation and inflammation of the thin layer that covers the white of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelids).

Merabishvili's lawyers suggest that the previous examinations were not enough and the doctors made the wrong diagnosis. At the end of September, the opposition association “Strength in Unity” called on Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili to pardon Merabishvili, and the Ministry of Justice to begin considering the issue of his release on parole.

Merabishvili was detained in May 2013, after the change of power in Georgia and was sentenced to 6 years and 9 months in prison, found guilty of abusing his authority in office and organizing an intentional infliction of harm to human health.

By Shawn Wayne