The politician claims he was denied the right to attend his own trial via video link.
The former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili announced a new hunger strike until he receives guarantees to participate in the court session via video link. The politician’s appeal was read to journalists by lawyer Shalva Khachapuridze, the News-Georgia portal reported on December 14.
“I am aware of the risks posed by my current state of health, but will continue to starve until I have firm assurance that at least video calls will be enabled,” the letter said.
Saakashvili emphasized that he was denied the right to attend his own trial.
“This is a violation of all Georgian and international norms, so I have to use an extreme form of protest – a hunger strike,” he said.
The portal recalled that on Wednesday, the Tbilisi City Court will start a process on the lawyers’ petition for the suspension of the sentence and release for Saakashvili’s health reasons.
Last week, the meeting was postponed, as the judge gave time to arrange the distant presence of the politician in the trial. Today, the Prison Service says it is not possible for technical reasons.
A new meeting is scheduled for December 22.
Saakashvili went on hunger strike twice: the first lasted 50 days, from the moment of his arrest on October 1, 2021, to November 20, 2021. The second – 20 days, from March 21 to March 10 this year.
As reported Correspondent.netthe former president secretly arrived in Georgia on September 29 last year and was detained in Tbilisi on October 1, then he was placed in a prison in the city of Rustavi, where he went on a hunger strike.
On November 8, he was transferred from a prison in the city of Rustavi to a prison hospital in Tbilisi, then to a military hospital in the city of Gori, where he ended his hunger strike. On May 12 of this year, Saakashvili was placed in a civilian clinic. Vivamed in Tbilisi, where he currently resides.
In Georgia, he was involved in several criminal cases. The politician considers his detention illegal, and the accusations against him false.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.