Droa opposition party leader goes on hunger strike due to Saakashvili
Droa opposition party leader, Elene Khoshtaria, went on hunger strike late yesterday. Photo: Elene Khoshtaria’s Facebook page.
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Droa opposition party leader, Elene Khoshtaria, has gone on hunger strike in the parliament building of Georgia, demanding the transfer of former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvil, to a civil clinic for treatment.
Saakashvili, the third president of Georgia, has been on hunger strike since his arrest in Tbilisi on October 1, and is now demanding his transportation to a civil clinic instead of the government-provided prison hospital.
Khoshtaria says that she has ‘never been Saakashvili's supporter’ and disapproves of many of his actions.
However, she says that the government’s attitude to Saakashvili is ‘cynical and unacceptable,’ and that Saakashvili’s life is ‘at risk.’
Today, I started a hunger-strike in the ???????? parliament until @SaakashviliM is transferred to a civic hospital. I’m not his supporter and have been his critic, but the ???????? govt’s treatment of him goes beyond any norm. Unfortunately, we are only left with extreme means of protest.
— Helen Khoshtaria (@Helenkhosh) November 3, 2021
I will stay on hunger strike until Saakashvili is transferred to a civil clinic and doctors say that his life is not at risk,” Khoshtaria said late yesterday.
Saakashvili’s doctor says the former president has lost 10 percent of his body weight and that a council of doctors will assess his health condition on Friday.
Khoshtaria was nominated as a joint candidate for the head of Tbilisi City Assembly by the United National Movement, European Georgia, Girchi-More Freedom and Droa opposition parties in recent municipal elections.
She left the European Georgia opposition party back in December 2020, shortly after the October 2020 parliamentary elections, to create a new political movement.
Khoshtaria has refused to take up her parliamentary mandate which she received via the party list of the European Georgia opposition party in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
She maintains that elections were fabricated by the ruling Georgian Dream party, and refuses to enter the state legislature in protest.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has reiterated her previous claims that she will not pardon arrested ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. She said Saakashvili, who was arrested a day before the October 2 municipal elections in Tbilisi ‘does not satisfy any criteria of a political prisoner or of a victim of innocence’.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party MP, Mamuka Mdinaradze, says that he is sure the arrested former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, will feel good on the 41st day on hunger strike and will appear in a funny situation.
Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili released a letter from Rustavi Prison No. 12 earlier today, urging the public to join anti-government rallies announced by the opposition. Saakashvili claims the opposition won the local self-government elections in all cities of Georgia, and asks the citizens of Georgia to join the street rallies, demanding the annulment of election results and his release from prison.
Georgian opposition leaders have gathered with their supporters in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi to protest the results of the October 30 run-off municipal elections. The opposition, claiming that the election results were fabricated, announced rallies in the cities of Batumi, Kutaisi, and Zugdidi, in addition to the massive demonstration in Tbilisi scheduled for November 7.
Several opposition parties and members have criticized Georgian president Salome Zurabishvili for a recent statement that she will never pardon ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.Zurabishvili said yesterday that Saakashvili, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after eight years in political exile, ‘is neither a political prisoner, nor a victim of injustice,’ noting that the former president returned to Georgia to incite unrest.
Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who is serving a prison term in Rustavi Prison No.12, has said that ‘only the Georgian people’ can release him from prison. Saakashvili, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after returning from eight years in political exile, considers himself a ‘political prisoner’ and has reportedly been on a hunger strike for 35 days.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Kakha Kuchava visited Droa opposition party leader Elene Khoshtaria, who has been on a hunger strike in the parliament building for three days, demanding former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s transfer to a civil clinic rather than a prison hospital. Saakashvili, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after returning from eight years in political exile, considers himself a ‘political prisoner’ and has reportedly been on a hunger strike for 36 days.
Droa opposition party leader, Elene Khoshtaria, who has been on hunger strike for six days while demanding the transfer of former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili to a civil clinic, says that she is ‘strongly against’ Saakashvili returning to power.
Leader of the Droa opposition party Elene Khoshtaria fainted earlier today in parliament, likely due to the hunger strike she announced six days ago demanding former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s transfer from prison to a private hospital. Paramedics recommended hospitalisation for Khoshtaria, which she rejected.
Nine MPs from the parliamentary faction United National Movement - Unified Opposition have gone on hunger strike, demanding the imprisoned former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili be transferred from the prison hospital where he is currently receiving care to a civil clinic. The MPs who went on hunger strike are: David Kirkitadze, Akaki Minashvili, Temur Janashia, Bachuki Kardava, Nika Machutadze, Giorgi Godabrelidze, Sulkhan Sibashvili, Levan Bejashvili, and Abdula Ismailov.
Rustavi, Zugdidi City Council members from UNM party announce hunger strike in support of Saakashvili
Elene Khoshtaria, the leader of the Droa opposition party, on Thursday confirmed transfers of funds from Russia to the account of her family member after reports in Georgian media, and said the money involved royalties for her father from a Russian theatre.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday called on Elene Khoshtaria, the leader of the Droa opposition party, to disclose information about the money received by her from Russia and transfer the funds to help Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.