Georgian prisoners' mothers decide to resume hunger strike demanding amnesty

On September 19, a march was held in Tbilisi demanding a mass amnesty before the parliamentary elections. It was attended by the women who had held a hunger strike in front of the parliament building. After the march, they announced that they would resume their protest action on September 20.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 8, prisoners' family members went on a hunger strike demanding a large-scale amnesty to be announced before the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 31. On the tenth day of the hunger strike, on September 18, they suspended their hunger strike in order to "gain strength."

The prisoners' relatives have drafted a bill on a large-scale amnesty, but the parliament ignored the proposal; and this caused the protest.

About two hundred people took part in the above march demanding a mass amnesty before the parliamentary elections; they marched along the central Rustaveli Avenue. The marchers blocked the motor traffic on two lanes of the roadway. During the march, they chanted: "Amnesty for prisoners" and voiced their demands. The action was organized by the lawyer, Alexander Kobaidze.

The hunger-strikers, who also took part in the march, have announced that they would resume their hunger strike on September 20; they would stay on the steps of parliament building around the clock.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 19, 2020 at 10:41 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.