A doctor prescribed Elene Khoshtaria’s examination at Todua Clinic. The opposition leader says she feels better and describes continuing treatment in prison and through clinic visits.
Georgia’s Special Penitentiary Service confirmed that jailed opposition leader Elene Khoshtaria underwent a scheduled examination at Todua Clinic, prescribed by her treating doctor, and was then returned to prison. The service gave the confirmation to OC Media.
Khoshtaria leads the opposition Droa party and is serving an 18-month sentence in the women’s prison near Rustavi for damaging an election banner belonging to Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze.
Reports published on 29 October 2026 described her transfer to Todua Clinic in Tbilisi. Footage published by Sando Tskaro showed her being brought into the clinic in a wheelchair.
After returning to prison, Khoshtaria said she uses a wheelchair only for long distances and otherwise mostly walks with a cane. She was feeling better, and doctors Maka Ioseliani and Ani Kavtaradze were doing everything they could for her.
She also said she had no complaints about the prison administration and that staff were doing everything possible for her health. She separately accused Georgian Dream, Georgia’s ruling party, of responsibility for harm to her health and that of other citizens.
Transparency International Georgia described her condition as inflammatory and affecting the spine. The organisation said she had experienced difficulty walking without a cane and holding a pen months before imprisonment. Khoshtaria has not publicly specified her condition.
On 17 June 2026, her lawyer Shota Tutberidze warned that she risked irreversible harm without proper medical care. He described severe joint pain, restricted movement and difficulty writing.
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Khoshtaria was taken from Vivamed to Todua Clinic for additional examinations on 16 July 2026. Kavtaradze described that transfer as planned and said Khoshtaria was stable and her pain had eased. She returned to Vivamed after those examinations, then to prison on 27 September 2026.
On 14 September 2025, Khoshtaria wrote “Russian Dream” on a banner at Kaladze’s campaign headquarters. After her arrest, she refused to pay bail in protest and remained in pre-trial detention. Tbilisi City Court sentenced her on 24 March 2026, with the sentence calculated from the start of her pre-trial detention.
She also faces multiple charges in a separate pending “sabotage” case. The most serious charge carries a possible sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
Transparency International Georgia demanded Khoshtaria’s immediate release and all necessary medical assistance. It described her as a political prisoner, called her sentence disproportionate and argued that her detention violated constitutional and international prohibitions on torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. The organisation held Georgian Dream and its founder Bidzina Ivanishvili politically and legally responsible for her health and safety.
Georgia’s first deputy parliamentary speaker, Georgian Dream MP Giorgi Volski, said he was inclined to believe Khoshtaria was not pretending to be ill and that her health should receive attention. He said she could have reached a plea bargain but would first have to admit the charges against her.
European lawmaker Rasa Juknevičienė said Khoshtaria’s health had deteriorated behind bars and that Georgian Dream bore full responsibility for her health.
Khoshtaria has described continuing treatment between prison and the clinic, with monthly visits for medication and examinations. Droa’s press service told Interpressnews on 29 October that examinations and medication were arranged approximately monthly. The party described her condition as relatively normal but said she had not recovered.
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