TBILISI -- Jailed former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has been transferred from a detention center to a private medical institution in Tbilisi for treatment.
Georgian officials said on May 12 that Saakashvili was transferred to the Vivamed clinic in the Georgian capital after several days of negotiations.
Saakashvili's physicians have said that the former president suffers from strong post-traumatic stress and anorexia that most likely developed after he held two separate hunger strikes while in custody.
The doctors have concluded the 54-year-old needs urgent and complex neuropsychological and physical treatment for his ailments.
Saakashvili's relatives, friends, and supporters have demanded Saakashvili be allowed to travel abroad to receive medical treatment.
Earlier this week, Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze proposed moving Saakashvili to a civilian medical clinic for treatment.
Bregadze's statement came the same day a Tbilisi court decided to postpone the former president's trial on embezzlement charges, as he was unable to attend because of his health.
Saakashvili, who served as president from 2004 until 2013, has been in custody since October 1, when he was detained shortly after returning to Georgia from self-imposed exile.
He is serving a six-year sentence after being convicted in absentia of abuse of office, a charge he calls politically motivated.
He is currently on trial on separate charges of violently dispersing an anti-government rally in November 2007 and illegal border crossing. He has rejected those charges as well, calling them trumped-up.
