Elene Khoshtariya refuses to end her hunger strike

Elene Khoshtariya, the leader of the oppositional "Droa" Party, has been on a hunger strike for the third day; she is holding it in the building of the parliament. She has stated her intention to pass over to harsher measures, if her demand to transfer the third president of Georgia from prison to a civil clinic is not fulfilled.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 3, Ms Khoshtariya announced a hunger strike in the parliament building. She noted that she needs daily medication, and the hunger strike is very dangerous for her health. The ruling "Georgian Dream-Democratic Movement" Party has treated her protest action as a "blackmail."

Since October 1, Mikheil (Mikhail) Saakashvili, a former Georgian President, has been on a hunger strike in Rustavi Prison, demanding his release. On November 5, his advocate stated that on the 36th day of his hunger strike, Saakashvili is not able to stand firmly on his feet and think coherently.

The Elene Khoshtariya's hunger strike is held in her study in the parliament building; she refuses to eat for the third day.

The country had already faced the death of its president – the first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdiya, which caused irreparable damage to the country, David Bakradze, a former parliament speaker, said on air of the "Mtavari Arkhi" TV Company.

On December 31, 1993, the first president of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdiya, died under mysterious circumstances in Samegrelo. According to some sources, he committed suicide; according to other ones, he was killed by his bodyguard who had betrayed him.

"If something like this happens again, it will finally interrupt the Georgia's integration into the European Union (EU) and the NATO ... Today, the ruling "Georgian Dream" Party is playing with this danger," Mr Bakradze has stated.