Patriarch requests Saakashvili once again stop hunger strike
In his previous letter on October 7, Patriarch Ilia II asked Saakashvili to suspend his hunger strike ‘which is not a Christian way of behaviour.’ Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
Tweet 
Share
Georgian Patriarch Ilia II, who is the most trusted figure in the country according to public polls, has for the second time requested the country’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, to suspend his hunger strike.
Saakashvili, who was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after eight years in political exile, has been on hunger strike for 35 days in Rustavi Prison No.12, stating that he is a ‘political prisoner.’
The Patriarchate’s spokesperson, Mikael Botkoveli, came to the prison earlier today and gave the patriarch’s letter to Saakashvili.
Ilia II asks and advises Saakashvili to stop the hunger strike in the letter,” Botkoveli told journalists at the prison.
Saakashvili, who is a citizen of Ukraine and chairs the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council, says he returned to Georgia to help his UNM party remove Georgian Dream from power.
According to @SaakashviliM, the Georgian people won the elections in almost all cities, so the "Ivanishvili gang" is afraid of their large numbers and them taking to the streets.
— Mtavari TV (@MtavariChannel) November 2, 2021
More: https://t.co/4KWtQG1d68 pic.twitter.com/ghj103ruPJ
He has been on hunger strike since his arrest in Tbilisi on October 1.
The Ministry of Justice has offered Saakashvili medical care in a prison clinic, which he declined.
The government officials say that Saakashvili is ‘staging a show’ with his hunger strike, and has plans to cause unrest if he is brought to a civil clinic.
The former president was convicted in Georgia in absentia back in 2018 for abuse of authority and was sentenced to six years in prison.
He has also been charged with several other offences.