Khachapuridze: demands of Georgian hunger-striking lawyers were ignored

The Georgian lawyers, who stopped on May 21 their hunger strike in front of the Parliament of Georgia, claim that the authorities failed to satisfy any of their demands.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the lawyers had put forward several demands to the authorities of Georgia: independence of judges, dismissal of the judges who made the decision on the case about the murder of the employee of the United Bank of Georgia Levan Girgvliani; investigation of the deaths of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvaniya, businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili, leader of the oppositional political movement "Language, Fatherland, Faith" Guram Sharadze, and of Zurab Vadzagashvili, who was killed in a police operation in 2006; establishment of a committee for release of unlawfully imprisoned citizens of Georgia; release of political prisoners; release of convicted lawyers; end to torture and ill-treatment of prisoners by prison staff; and restoration of benefits for veterans of the war for the territorial integrity of Georgia.

"Nevertheless, we had conducted, as it was announced, a hunger strike near the parliament from May 17 to May 21. In total, some 100 persons were involved in the action," lawyer Shalva Khachapuridze, one of the organizers of the protest and leader of the opposition party "For Victory", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The hunger-strikers drank mineral water only.

Let us note here that on the first day of the protest action a police unit arrived and confiscated their sound amplification equipment and the mattresses, which the protesters were going to use for sleeping before the parliament.

"It was all very strange, because just a few days before the action we received a sanction of Tbilisi Mayoralty. In our application we had indicated that we were going to spend a few days before the parliament," said Khachapuridze.

As a result, the protesters had to use pieces of polyethylene film as mats. "We slept on them and used them as blankets. It saved from rain, but not from the cold granite, on which we were trying to sleep. Some protesters felt joint aches, others got cold," said the lawyer Kakha by name, who asked not to publish his surname.

"Our lawyers had a meeting with the French Ambassador Eric Fourier and handed him a petition. The meeting was also attended by members of the Bar Association of Georgia Lali Abtsiauri and Vakho Gognidze. We now wait for the return of the Bar President Zaza Khatiashvili, who now has meetings in Europe; then, we'll decide on our future plan of actions," said Khachapuridze.

Let us also note here that on May 18 a resident of Tbilisi Sulkhan Dekanoidze joined the action and sewed up his mouth. This was his protest against detention of his brother David, who, according to Sulkhan's story, was detained in remand prison unlawfully.