The former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has told Sky News he is approaching death in the hospital he has been moved to from jail.
In a moment of rare media access, the former leader also delivered a warning to the people of Georgia after days of protests had swept through the country.
An appeal trial last month heard claims from an independent expert that Mr Saakashvili had been poisoned while in jail.
Georgian authorities reject that possibility, and will not let him be transferred for treatment in Europe.
Sky News was denied access to the hospital but was able to pass Mr Saakashvili questions via his lawyer, and receive handwritten responses in reply.
Asked how close to death he was, Mr Saakashvili said: “I was initially 120 kilogrammes, now I am 64, if I become less than 60 doctors predict multiple organ failure.”
As for his health, he said: “I am in bed all the time, my bones are disintegrating and it gives excruciating pain.”
His lawyer Shalva Khachapuridze said his client’s condition is worsening every day.
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“It’s an awful scene,” Mr Khachapuridze told Sky News. “He looks like a prisoner in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany.”
Mr Saakashvili sent a message to the thousands of demonstrators who have been on the streets protesting proposed new laws criticised as pro-Russian.
“Stay very vigilant, be ready to mobilise at short notice, because of the vengeful mood of the oligarchs’ regime,” he wrote in his correspondence with Sky News.
Image: From hospital Mikheil Saakashvili answers questions from Sky News sent in a letter via his lawyer
Zelenskyy and Macron weigh in
The government has now withdrawn the controversial bill.
But the West is closely watching what happens to Mr Saakashvili, reading it as a sign of the country’s true loyalties towards Russia or Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke out on Mr Saakashvili’s fate this week, saying: “Former political leaders in Georgia who are being detained and in poor health should be freed or the health situation checked.”
A European parliament resolution in February demanded his release and pardon and warned Georgia the issue would be seen as a “litmus test” for its commitment to European values.
Last month the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the release of the former Georgian leader.
“Right now, Ukrainian citizen, former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili is being slowly killed,” President Zelenskyy said.
“Ukraine offered solutions. I urge the world to help save [Saakashvili’s] life and prevent his execution.”
Image: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held up photos of Mr Saakashvili during a press conference in February
Mikheil Saakashvili rose to fame as a dynamic young politician who led his country through the so-called “Rose Revolution” in 2003, when Georgians rose up and shook off Russian domination.
He became a hero in the West for resisting aggression from Moscow, which was sending tanks into Georgia.
But he was accused of abuse of power and his administration was overshadowed by accusations he plotted the death of opponents in custody.
Government is ‘doing everything’ needed for Mikheil Saakashvili
The ruling Georgian Dream party insists Mr Saakashvili must serve his sentence and is receiving enough care. Authorities say his health problems are caused by his refusal to eat enough food.
“We do hope that it (his death) will not happen and his needs are properly addressed,” Georgian Dream MP Maka Botchorishvili told Sky News.
“We do believe that the government is doing everything that Saakashvili as a prisoner in Georgia has absolute rights to,” she said during an interview in Tbilisi.
“Whatever he needs it is done, health-wise… and needs that are there.”
Image: Georgian Dream Party MP Maka Botchorishvili says Mr Saakashvili is being well cared for
But Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say the Georgian government is denying him “adequate medical care”, putting him at grave risk of dying.
A group of medical experts appointed by the Georgian public defender confirmed Saakashvili’s condition was severe and required urgent change to his ineffective treatment.
Poland and Ukraine have offered to welcome Mikheil Saakashvili for medical care.
But the Georgian government says it doubts he is as ill as he claims and says his release could destabilise the country.
If they are wrong, and he is close to multiple organ failure, the fallout of his imminent death could significantly set back the country’s chances of joining the European Union.
A lot is at stake as the world watches the fate of the former Georgian leader.
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.
Tens of thousands of people have packed St Peter’s Square as the funeral of Pope Francis begins.
Royals, world leaders and cardinals joined scores of worshippers at the Vatican, as mourning of the 266th pontiff transcended wealth and social class.
In keeping with Francis’s life as a breaker of tradition, many of the more elaborate and expensive rituals customary for the burial of popes have been foregone in favour of simpler options.
Around 200,000 people are attending the funeral, with around 50,000 packing out St Peter’s Square.
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His body had been lying in state since his death aged 88 on Easter Monday, spending the last few days in St Peter’s Basilica to allow mourners to pay their respects.
The Vatican – where the funeral service is taking place – and Rome – where Francis will be laid to rest – are under heavy security, with a no-fly zone in place overhead.
Image: The coffin of Pope Francis is borne aloft by pallbearers. Pic: Reuters
Image: Members of the clergy gathered to say farewell to their pontiff. Pic: Reuters
Francis’s coffin has been taken out into St Peter’s Square where 220 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests are sitting in rows, waiting to say goodbye to the Bishop of Rome.
A series of readings and prayers are being read before the 50,000 faithful gathered before the basilica, and the coffin will be sprinkled with holy water and incense.
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2:27
Singing rings out at the Vatican
Image: Members of the clergy stand in St Peter’s Square. Pic: Reuters
It began with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re reading the Penitential Act – a way for the faithful to confess their sinfulness.
This was followed by the Liturgy of the Word, a part in Catholic mass where faithful gather to hear and reflect on the word of God.
Cardinal Re then delivered the homily, speaking about Pope Francis’ life and service to God.
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0:52
Applause breaks out as Zelenskyy arrives
Image: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re read the homily
The cardinal praised the pontiff as someone who “touched the minds and hearts of people” who was “attentive to the signs of the times”.
He added: “Despite his frailty and suffering towards the end, Pope Francis chose to follow this path of self-giving until the last day of his earthly life.”
He said Francis “was a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone”.
Image: Tens of thousands pack St Peter’s Square for the funeral. Pic: AP
Image: Clergy seated during the funeral. Pic: AP
At the end of the mass, the choir will sing in Latin: “May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come and welcome you and take you into the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem.”
After the service, Pope Francis’s body will be taken in procession through the streets of Rome to his final resting place at his favourite church, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
Image: Worshippers outside the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Pic: Reuters
He will be ushered into the basilica – dedicated to the Virgin Mary – by prisoners and migrants, a last reflection of his priorities as pope.
In a break with tradition, the Popeoutlined in his will his request to be buried “in the ground, without particular ornamentation” but simply with the inscription “Franciscus”.