Georgia’s Justice Minister denounces hunger strike reports as disinformation

Rati Bregadze, Georgia’s Minister of Justice, on Tuesday condemned recent reports about the number of prisoners on hunger strike as disinformation intended to mislead the public. In a social media post, Bregadze accused the opposition and unspecified media outlets of “maliciously manipulating” information over the amnesty related protests in several prisons across the country. 

Bregadze stressed the detrimental impact of encouraging prisoners to go on hunger strikes, either directly or indirectly. “The opposition and the media, which pretend to be humane, should not need to be reminded that only villains devoid of honor play with and manipulate human health and life,” he said.

He criticized the opposition for allegedly using “provocative and unethical” tactics, which he claimed were reminiscent of past Bolshevik attitudes towards prisoners and human rights. “Provocative, dirty, and often inhumane methods used by the opposition are not new to us. They forget that with such actions, they once again demonstrate the attitude of the united Bolshevik movement towards prisoners and human rights in general,” Bregadze wrote.

Reaffirming the government’s commitment to individual rights, Bregadze said, “The foundation of today’s Georgian state is the individual and their rights. Accordingly, we will not allow our society to be deceived and its rights to be trampled underfoot.”

These statements come in response to media reports claiming that prisoners in the 8th prison of Ksani, Kutaisi, and Gldani have started a hunger strike. The prisoners are reportedly demanding the expansion of the articles of the ruling party’s proposed amnesty bill.