UNM activist detained in Georgia goes on hunger strike

David Kirkitadze, a detained member of the political council of the parliamentary oppositional "United National Movement" (UNM) Party, has refused to plead guilty and went on a hunger strike in protest against his detention.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 17, in Gurdjaani, Georgian law enforcers detained David Kirkitadze within the investigation into the case of clashes of oppositionists with policemen on December 16. According to Natiya Mezvrishvili, Deputy Interior Minister of Georgia, there is a video of David Kirkitadze's attacking policemen.

David Kirkitadze is suspected of assaulting a policeman, beating him up and damaging his property (Article 353 of the Criminal Code of Georgia). David, who has denied the accusation, went on a hunger strike, said his advocate Giorgi Kondakhashvili after visiting his client at the SIZO (pre-trial prison) this evening.

"He (Kirkitadze) is charged with attacking a policeman; and he went on a hunger strike, refusing to plead guilty. Davis is an instrument of political persecution carried out by the authorities," the "InterPressNews" Georgian News Agency quotes Mr Kondakhashvili as saying.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 17, 2018 at 10:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.