Papuashvili says hunger strike motivates ex-president not to deal with correctional system, medics

12:43, 16.12.2022

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili urged the United National Movement (UNM) party’s lawmakers to end their hunger strike and maintain their health after they resorted to the most severe form of protest to support former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Following the visit of the hunger-striking MPs, Papuashvili stated that it was their right to continue the hunger strike, but that they had to continue engaging with the parliament and ensuring peace in the supreme legislative body.

“Georgia is a constitutional state, and all concerns are settled through judicial procedures. Threats, intimidation, and blackmail are all unacceptable, especially at the expense of one’s own health. On the contrary, such behaviour eventually motivates Mikheil Saakashvili to refuse to collaborate with the penal system or physicians,” Shalva Papuashvili stated.

On December 15, UNM MPs Davit Kirkitadze, Ana Tsitlidze, and Abdula Ismailov went on a hunger strike, demanding to send Saakashvili abroad for treatment. Temur Janashia, another MP, joined the protest today.

By - Elene Dobordjginidze

Politics

UNM

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