The demand is very humane and just - Nika Melia on Mikheil Saakashvili's hunger strike

The request is very humane and fair, let a qualified, professional representative of the medical service step in - this is how the UNM chairman Nika Melia responds to Mikheil Saakashvili's announcement of an indefinite hunger strike:

"We agree that this is not a prisoner, but a hostage and captive. Why do I call Mikheil Saakashvili a captive and not a prisoner? You are a captive when you are locked in 4 walls by the will of one person and their whims. You are a captive when you are not given access to medical care. Furthermore, you are a captive when you are not allowed to exercise your rights. For example, phone calls and the many rights a prisoner has.

Mikheil Saakashvili's demand and today's extremes, after he went on a 50-day hunger strike and almost fatally undertook the most gruesome act of a hunger strike, certainly constitute a serious threat to his life. The request is a very humane and fair one, let in a qualified, professional medical representative. This is something the public has been asking for months. I would like to hope that the facility will allow in the doctor he needs to protect his life and health," Melia said.