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Thousands rally in Georgia to demand ex-president Saakashvili's release

Thousands of people continue to pour into the streets in Tbilisi, Georgia, in support of jailed former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who is on a hunger strike. The protests have intensified after Saakashvili said he feared for his life, accusing prison guards of assaulting him.

Waving Georgian flags and chanting Saakashvili’s name, protesters gathered outside the prison in Georgia’s southeastern city of Rustavi, where the former president is held.

He was on Monday transferred to a prison hospital in the capital Tbilisi, the prison service said, just over five weeks after he announced a hunger strike in jail.

The 53-year-old, who had asked to be treated in a civilian clinic, was taken to a prison hospital in the Gldani district of the capital. 

Saakashvili was arrested on Oct. 1 after returning from exile to Georgia to rally the opposition on the eve of local elections, in what he described as a mission to save the country.

(Source: Agencies)


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