UNM to hold two rallies, block roads on both banks of Mtkvari River
UNM head said that the opposition is giving a 'warning sign' to the government.
Photo: Nino Alavidze, Agenda.ge
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The head of the opposition United National Movement (UNM) Nika Melia has announced two protest rallies and intent to block roads on both banks of the Mtkvari River in Tbilisi tomorrow.
Melia said that the opposition is giving a 'warning sign' to the government.
I understand that it [blocking roads] will create some discomfort to the citizens, but it is a strong warning sign to the regime that the non-violent protest movement aggravates every day, Melia explained.
The UNM members and supporters demand the transfer of the imprisoned former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili to a private clinic from a prison hospital, his eventual release from prison, and the annulment of the 2021 municipal election results.
The opposition asserts that the rallies will not stop until all their demands are fulfilled by the government.
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.
The Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia has said that the imprisoned former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili's health is stable and under constant medical surveillance, refuting speculation on Saakashvili's alleged health deterioration. The penitentiary service asserts that Saakashvili does not need intensive care, but the Gldani prison hospital, where he had been transferred a few days ago, is equipped with 'all necessary modern technique.'
Tbilisi City Court has sentenced the opposition United National Movement (UNM) supporter Zviad Kuprava, who was among the 46 protesters detained at the November 10 UNM rally, to five days of administrative detention. Some other detainees have been fined, while the rest are awaiting the court's decision.
Georgian law enforcement arrested 46 individuals at rallies organized by the United National Movement (UNM) in Tbilisi earlier today, including at the buildings of the State Security Service and the Ministry of Health. The Georgian Interior Ministry says the UNM activists violated the law of assembly and demonstration, attempting to block state buildings and disobeying police officers.
Opposition United National Movement (UNM) member Giorgi Baramidze and opera singer Paata Burchuladze have announced a 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 Georgian Interior Ministry says that the plans announced by the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party to block roads on both banks of the River Mtkvari in the afternoon is against the law and that the ministry will use the ‘proportional force and act in accordance with the law’ to prevent the violation.
Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has refused online participation in a trial hearing today which concerns his illegal crossing from Ukraine to Georgia at the end of September 2021, Tbilisi City Court judge David Kurtradze said earlier today.
The Special Penitentiary Service of Georgia says that the health condition of former president Mikheil Saakashvili is ‘stable’ on the 47th day of his hunger strike. Deputy head of the Medical Department of the Special Penitentiary Service Giorgi Chidrashvili said earlier today that the former president is under the supervision of doctors around the clock and that all diagnostic and lab tests are being made to prevent any complications.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili says that the third president Mikheil Saakashvili is serving his term in a Georgian prison ‘based on the rule of law.’ However, she noted that the former president is not an ordinary prisoner and that his imprisonment and hunger strike is ‘under close observation’ by the international community.