Thousands rally in support of Georgia’s jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili
- Protesters gathered outside the prison in Georgia’s southeastern city of Rustavi, where the former president is held
- Fears are growing for Saakashvili’s health because of a hunger strike lasting several weeks
Thousands of Georgians rallied Saturday for the jailed opposition leader and ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili as fears grew for his health because of a hunger strike lasting several weeks.
Waving Georgian flags and chanting Saakashvili’s name, protesters gathered on Saturday evening outside the prison in Georgia’s southeastern city of Rustavi, where the former president is held.
Georgia’s president from 2004-2013, Saakashvili was arrested on October 1 upon his return from exile in Ukraine. He has refused food for 37 days to protest his imprisonment, which he says is politically motivated.
The jailing of the country’s foremost opposition leader has further fuelled a protracted political crisis that gripped Georgia last year after the opposition denounced fraud in parliamentary elections won narrowly by the ruling Georgian Dream party.
The protesters have vowed round-the-clock permanent protests until Saakashvili is transferred to a hospital, as recommended by doctors.