Arrested Georgian businessman on hunger strike reportedly in critical condition

Georgian businessman Giorgi Chikvaizde, who has been on hunger strike since March 12 while in custody, is in critical condition, his business partner claimed on Wednesday.

Irakli Papiashvili, a close associate of the imprisoned businessman, has warned that Chikvaidze’s health had severely deteriorated and called for urgent medical intervention.

“Giorgi’s condition is extremely serious, he is shaking, he cannot move. Today he was taken to his lawyer in a wheelchair,” Papiashvili wrote in a statement.

He further claimed Chikvaidze had experienced a prolonged seizure five days ago, which, penitentiary doctors suspected, may have resulted in a brain injury, leaving him unable to move.

“The doctors at the penitentiary institution suspect that he may have meningitis or encephalitis,” Papiashvili added, stressing that the Public Defender’s Office has also recommended his hospitalization.

Meanwhile, the Public Defender’s Office said that a representative, accompanied by a doctor, was en route to visit Chikvaidze in prison after receiving information from his family about his deteriorating condition. However, the office clarified that it had not yet made an independent assessment regarding the necessity of hospitalization.

Chikvaidze was arrested on March 11 during a session at Tbilisi City Court, where Judge Iza Kelenjeridze approved a request by the prosecution to replace his preventive measure with imprisonment. The businessman, accused of embezzlement, began his hunger strike the following day, vowing not to “tolerate oppression by the system [Georgian Dream authorities,” as stated in a letter from prison.