OREANDA-NEWS. The health condition of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has deteriorated and he has memory problems. This was stated by his lawyer Nika Gvaramia, Mtavari Arkhi TV channel reports.

Gvaramia said that the politician already has serious health problems. "Saakashvili cannot remember people's names. He still remembers me, but during the conversation it turned out that he cannot even remember the names of some of his friends,"- the lawyer said. 

He added that the politician was refusing to be examined by doctors until an alternative medical board could be formed. "He personally expresses his trust and respect to all doctors but believes that this board is largely controlled,"- Gvaramia said. 

Saakashvili returned to Georgia after an eight-year absence and on the eve of local elections in the country. At the same time, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said the politician had been detained and was in jail. A case of illegal border crossing was filed against him. This is the fifth case of which he is accused by the Georgian authorities. Two of them have been sentenced in absentia - Saakashvili has been sentenced to nine years in prison for the beating of MP Valeri Gelashvili and the murder of MP Sandro Girgvliani. The other two cases are on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement of budgetary funds. 

The ex-president went on hunger strike after being detained and demanded a meeting with Ukraine's consul - he has been a Ukrainian citizen since 2015. Saakashvili's defence said on 19 October that he was weakened, finding it difficult to move around his cell and talk, but there were no plans to abandon the hunger strike. The politician's personal doctor, Nikoloz Kipshidze, said the former president has a rare blood disorder that is linked to "gene damage". The starvation may cause irreversible consequences in his body, he warned. In mid-October a commission of doctors advised to send the politician to hospital, noting that for now his condition is not a cause for concern, but "serious complications" may arise soon.