Six citizens of Ukraine and one of Georgia, who were detained in Tbilisi on December 2 on counts of the illegal possession of weapons, went on hunger strike on Dec. 4, according to lawyer Giorgi Rostomashvili.
He said the detainees were thus protesting against the charges.
A court in Tbilisi put the six Ukrainian citizens under arrest for the illegal possession of weapons, Verkhovna Rada deputy Semyon Semenchenko (Samopomich) said.
“A court in Tbilisi has upheld the arrest of the Ukrainian citizens and the Georgian volunteer,” Semenchenko wrote on Facebook on Dec. 4.
He said he would ask the lawyer to convey his demand for an examination and file an appeal.
According to the Georgian media, the judge agreed with the prosecutors that the detainees posed a flight risk or might try to hinder the collection of evidence in case of their release on bail.
The defense asked the court to free the detainees either without restrictions or on bail of 5,000 lari (about $1,900).
The judge decided that the detainees might try to escape, commit another crime, or try to hinder the inquiry if they were released on bail.
The six citizens of Ukraine and one of Georgia were taken into custody in two Tbilisi hotels as a result of a special operation of the Georgian Interior Ministry.
The Georgian Interior Ministry said it had seized handguns, an improvised rifle, and ammunition from the detainees who came to Georgia on November 27. The reason for their arrival is being investigated, including in the context of their possible involvement in the political processes underway in Georgia.
The lawyers said their clients came to Georgia as tourists.
Semenchenko, the former commander of the nationalist battalion Donbas, described the detention of the Ukrainian citizens, including former battalion members, as a provocation.
