UPDATED: UNM MP Ends Hunger Strike as Health Concerns Mount

Member of Parliament from the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party, Ana Tsitlidze has stopped her hunger strike. She has been on hunger strike for the past twelve days now. She was protesting the government’s refusal to send the imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili abroad for medical treatment. 

In her recent Facebook post, Tsitlidze said she saw a clear risk of her friends joining her and going on hunger strike as well. “I had no right to put my friends’ health at risk,” she wrote.

Concerns about her health has been growing as doctors insisted Tsitlidze’s health was in grave condition and urged her to end the hunger strike.

Today, the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili visited Ana Tsiltidze in her office in the Parliament, and urged her to end the hunger strike. According to Papuashvili, Tsitlidze was in such a state that her health could be irreversibly harmed and it was critical that she prioritized her own health. When it comes to the MPs’ demand that Saakashvili be transferred abroad for treatment, the Parliament Speaker stated that this is entirely up to the court to decide, and that hunger strikes do not solve such issues. 

UNM MPs Ana Tsitlidze, Davit Kirkitadze, and Abdula Ismailov began a hunger strike on December 15. On December 16, they were joined by another UNM MP Temur Janashia. He was later hospitalized on December 23 due to his deteriorating health. Davit Kirkitadze and Abdula Ismailov have also called off their hunger strike due to health concerns.

Also Read:

• 22/12/2022 – No Decision on Enfeebled Saakashvili’s Release Plea

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