Followers of Gamsakhurdia in Georgia threaten with new actions of protest

In case the court ruling to Tsotne, the son of the first president of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia,  is unfavourable for the Gamsakhurdia family the followers of the first president and members of his family threaten with new actions of protest.

As the "Caucasian Knot" reported previously, starting from December 25, 2009, Gamsakhurdia went on a hunger strike demanding release. Later Gamsakhurdia's lawyer claimed that Tsotne was in coma and held at the republic's prison hospital in Tbilisi. At the end of February doctors stated that the condition of Tsotne Gamsakhurdia was "stable".

However, the family members and the lawyers of Tsotne Gamsakhurdia claim that he was about to die when, upon the request of Catholicos of all Georgia Iliya II who personally visited him in prison, "he decided to stop the so-called deathly hunger strike".

Earlier, his mother Manana, the widow of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, threatened the authorities that, unless her son was released, she would dig up the grave of Zviad in the Mtsatsmind pantheon near the Father David Cathedral and re-bury the body of the first president in the yard of his family house.

Moreover, Manana Archvadze-Gamsakhurdia, together with a hundred of his followers, came to the pantheon and started to open the grave but was stopped by church representatives.

Still, if the ruling of the court in the proceedings under way now is unfavourable for the Gamsakhurdia family, the followers of the first president and his family members threaten with new actions of protest, reports "Radio Freedom".

The court proceedings on the case of Tsotne Gamsakhurdia, the son of the first Georgian president, were resumed on March 16 in Tbilisi city court. Lawyer Keti Bekauri reports that, in the course of the session, victim David Berzhalidze was interrogated.

During the court hearing held on March 12, the victim requested a lawyer, reports "GHN". Now Berzhalidze will take part in the proceedings along with the lawyer.