Doctors find traces of mercury, arsenic in Saakashvili's body - lawyer

TBILISI. Nov 28 (Interfax) - Foreign doctors have found traces of mercury and arsenic in former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's body, lawyer Shalva Khachapuridze said.

He did not present any specific information from the conclusion drawn by the foreign doctors to journalists and Georgian Penitentiary Service officers.

Saakashvili refused to be tested for toxins by Georgian experts less than a month ago.

Khachapuridze added that Saakashvili had been diagnosed with over 30 health conditions.

"The former president lost 30 kilograms and developed mobility issues while in custody," the lawyer said.

Saakashvili discretely crossed into Georgia on September 29, 2021. He was detained in Tbilisi on October 1 and put in prison in Rustavi, where he went on a hunger strike. He was transferred from the Rustavi prison to a prison infirmary in the Tbilisi district of Gldani on November 8 without the consent of lawyers and family members. On November 20, 2021, Saakashvili was transferred to a military hospital in Gori, where he stopped his hunger strike. He was moved to the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi on May 12, 2022 where he remains for now.

Saakashvili is a defendant in several criminal cases in Georgia. He considers his detention illegal and the charges against him false.