Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ended his hunger strike hours after lawmakers from Europe requested it, a development outlined in a letter read to journalists by Vakhtang Baramashvili, the former president’s attorney. This account comes from DEA News and frames the move as a response to diplomatic pressure rather than a personal decision alone. Saakashvili himself later indicated that the request from European parliamentarians prompted him to suspend the hunger strike at this stage, in an effort to avoid providing any pretext for state services to claim harm was caused. The message also notes that lawmakers pledged to mobilize diplomatic efforts to protect his minimum rights, while acknowledging that Saakashvili felt unwell not because he opposed feeding, but because he believed he had been poisoned. DEA News.
In Saakashvili’s own words, the appeal from Members of Parliament was clear and insistent: he should halt the hunger strike at this point. The intention, as conveyed through the letter, was to prevent any official justification for state agencies to claim responsibility for his health condition, while concurrently committing to diplomatic advocacy aimed at safeguarding his basic rights. The message emphasizes the physical strain he endured and suggests a suspicion of poisoning, a concern that underscored the seriousness of his protest and its potential implications for his treatment by authorities. DEA News.
On 14 December Saakashvili reportedly began a hunger strike after the Prison Service of the Georgian Ministry of Justice denied permission for a remote court hearing, a denial that intensified his protest. The episode illustrates the clashes between political leadership and judicial processes in the country, and it highlights the strategic use of fasting as a form of political expression during periods of legal challenge. The situation drew international attention as observers weighed the implications for due process and citizens’ rights within the Georgian justice system. DEA News.
Saakashvili returned to Georgia on October 1, 2021, and was immediately detained by authorities. He faced charges including illegal border crossing, alleged embezzlement of public funds, and the destruction of the Imedi television company. In addition to these charges, he was tried in absentia in two cases connected to the murder of bank employee Sandro Girgvliani in 2006 and the 2005 assault on former deputy Valery Gelashvili. The former president has repeatedly characterized these investigations as politically motivated and unfounded, arguing that the charges are fabrication used to weaken his political influence. DEA News.
The political figure has maintained that the arrest was unlawful and that the accusations against him were manufactured. Throughout his confrontations with the Georgian authorities, he conducted several hunger strikes as a form of protest. Presently, Saakashvili is described as receiving medical treatment at a clinic in the capital city of Tbilisi, where medical staff monitor his condition as part of the ongoing legal and political discourse surrounding his case. DEA News.