Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s ex-president and former Ukrainian regional governor, has been arrested in Kiev. The embattled politician was initially detained Tuesday but his supporters blocked the police minivan he was in and set him free. On Friday, Ukrainian Police finally took the former friend of Ukraine’s incumbent president into custody.
Mikheil Saakashvili has gone on a hunger strike after he was taken into Ukrainian custody, his lawyer said after meeting him at a detention center on Saturday, Sputnik reports.
"He has declared the start of a hunger strike," Ruslan Chernolutskiy told the crowd outside the detention facility where the politician is being held.
The lawyer said his defendant would object to force-feeding and would continue striking if a court decides to keep him behind bars for 60 days. "He says he has nothing to do with this false case and is asking Ukrainians not to believe the information and propaganda spread as part of this persecution," the lawyer added.
