Tsotne Gamsakhurdiya goes on hunger strike in Georgia

Tsotne, the son of the first Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdiya, has again gone on hunger strike in prison demanding better custody conditions in prisons.

"It was last weekend, on September 8, that Tsotne Gamsakhurdiya went on hunger strike demanding to improve the custody conditions in prisons. Today I have a meeting scheduled with him, and I'll get new information about his key demands," Keti Bekauri, his advocate, said today.

"People know very well that Gamsakhurdiya's health condition is bad, and he needs treatment in a civilian city clinic urban," she added. According to Ms Bekauri, Rustavi Prison No. 17, where her client is kept, has no appropriate conditions for his treatment.

"Tsotne Gamsakhurdiya suffers from several grave chronic diseases. He has hernia, and he needs surgery. However, his hunger strike doesn't refer to his health condition only - he tries to draw the attention of the authorities and the public to the situation of prisoners in jails across the country," the "News-Georgia" quotes Keti Bekauri as saying.

According to her story, since 2009, when Tsotne Gamsakhurdiya was arrested, this is his fifth hunger strike, the "Interfax" reports.