Georgian premier chides jailed ex-president’s hunger strike as “show”

"If a person says he is on a hunger strike, he should not have eaten half a kilogram of honey," Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said this in a comment on former President Mikheil Saakashvili's hunger strike, the local bureau of Report says.

He described the ex-president's hunger strike as a circus and a show: "Imprisoned Saakashvili's major goal is to create certain tension in the country ahead of the second round of the local elections. They want to show the public that Saakashvili is seriously ill."

The prime minister added that professional doctors are monitoring Saakashvili's health and his health is satisfactory. Yesterday, the former president's personal physician Nikolo Kipshidze said that his patient's condition had worsened.

Saakashvili was detained in Tbilisi on October 1. He has been on hunger strike since his detention. On October 8, the Georgian Special Penitentiary Service announced that Saakashvili stopped his hunger strike and received honey and natural juices.