Saakashvili ends 50-day hunger strike as health deteriorates

Ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has ended his 50-day hunger strike, AFP reported on Nov. 20, citing his doctor Nikoloz Kipshidze. Saakashvili agreed to end the hunger strike following his transfer to a military hospital’s intensive care unit after he fell unconscious in a Tbilisi prison on Nov. 18.

Saakashvili is a Ukrainian citizen and the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Executive Committee for Reform. Saakashvili left for Georgia to support his United National Movement party ahead of local elections on Oct. 1. He was arrested upon arrival and jailed on what he says are fabricated abuse of office charges.

In an op-ed published on Politico’s website on Nov. 20, Saakashvili called on U.S. President Joe Biden to support Georgia’s fight for democracy by publicly condemning the country’s government and considering sanctions against the “human rights offenders.”