16:59, 7 January 2020

Georgian Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze goes on hunger strike in prison

Giorgi Mamaladze. Screenshot of the video at the GCSSI YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cppi2F1oL7o

Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze, whom the Georgian President refused in pardoning, stays in serious condition, reports Nika Gvaramiya, the general director of the "Mtavari Archi" TV Channel.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 6, Salome Zurabishvili pardoned five persons on the occasion of Christmas. However, Archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze was not included in a list of pardons. A brother of the sentenced Archpriest claims that the Georgian Patriarch influenced the decision of the Georgian leader. Supporters of Giorgi Mamaladze held a protest action in Gori before the festivities with the participation of Salome Zurabishvili, and human rights defenders stated the refusal to pardon Archpriest was unjustified.

In 2017, Giorgi Mamaladze was sentenced to nine years of imprisonment for plotting a murder of the secretary of the Georgian Patriarch and illegal possession of weapons.

Nika Gvaramiya wrote on Facebook that he had visited Giorgi Mamaladze in a penitentiary institution. According to the journalist, the priest was "actually sentenced to death" for political reasons.

According to Nika Gvaramiya, Giorgi Mamaladze is very ill and partially paralyzed.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 7, 2020 at 04:26 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.