Six Ukrainian, one Georgian citizens stop 20-day hunger strike in Tbilisi prison

Six Ukrainian and one Georgian citizens, who were detained in Tbilisi in early December for the purchase and possession of weapons, have stopped more than 20 days of hunger strike after the request of doctors and relatives, a lawyer said today.

Lawyer Giorgi Rostomashvili claims that the detainees are not waiting for the fair investigation and continue to say that they are innocent.

He says that the Ukrainian consul has visited the detainees, however, the detainees did not like the attitude and questions of the diplomat.

One Georgian and six Ukrainian citizens were detained in Tbilisi on 2 December.

It was reported by the Georgian law enforcers  that “their weapons have been seized and the Georgian Interior Ministry is investigating possible links between the detainees and the current, post-election political situation in Georgia.”

The Georgian Interior Ministry stated that the individuals were detained in the Guru and Alliance Hotels in Tbilisi.

The ministry said that the individuals came to Georgia on 27 November. They were charged with illegal purchase and possession of weapons and ammunition.

To the question as to why Ukrainian citizens were detained in Tbilisi after the presidential elections, Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia  told the Georgian lawmakers in parliament that the people “had specific professions and they could be involved in certain unpleasant situations”.

“They have been detained for prevention.14 other individuals were detained at that time as they could have created threats to public safety at that time,” Gakharia said.