As your colleagues and friends, we sincerely ask you to consider those paths that may give you the opportunity to return again to freedom, to your family, to your patients, to your students, and to scientific activity. We ask you, during the ongoing process in the Court of Appeal, to once again weigh the possibility of a plea agreement, — this is stated in the open letter with which representatives of Georgia’s medical community addressed the doctor, Academician Giorgi Chakhunashvili, who was convicted in the case of October 4.

The letter notes that the representatives of Georgia’s medical community are not asking Academician Giorgi Chakhunashvili to renounce his principles or to give up his sense of truth, but rather to take into account that he is needed by the medical and scientific field, by colleagues, and by patients.

“Dear Mr. Giorgi, the representatives of Georgia’s medical community address you with great love and respect. Your life path is for us an example of service to the human being. Over many decades you helped the sick, taught future generations, created scientific values, and through your professional activity affirmed the primary duty of a doctor — the protection of human life and dignity. We and every right-thinking citizen believe in your truth and innocence. We respect your inner strength, dignity, and the right to defend your own position. At the same time, as your colleagues and friends, we sincerely ask you to consider those paths that may give you the opportunity to return again to freedom, to your family, to your patients, to your students, and to scientific activity. We ask you, during the ongoing process in the Court of Appeal, to once again weigh the possibility of a plea agreement as one of the ways that may give you the chance to soon return to the work to which you have devoted your entire life. We are not asking you to renounce principles or to give up your sense of truth. We only ask you to take into account that you are still very much needed today by your patients, your colleagues, your students, and Georgian society as a whole. Your place is by our side — in the clinic, in science, and in the honorable work of a doctor. Dear Mr. Giorgi, please accept this letter as an expression of our deep respect, love, and solidarity. We wish you health, spiritual strength, and a speedy return to us. With respect, the representatives of Georgia’s medical community,” the open letter states.

For information, on October 4, in connection with the events that developed near the Atoneli Palace, the accused doctor Giorgi Chakhunashvili was detained right in the courtroom.

Specifically, on October 4, in connection with the events that developed near the Atoneli Palace, the accused doctor Giorgi Chakhunashvili and six other persons — Ia Darakhvelidze, Davit Zhghenti, Konstantine Kokaia, Kakhaber Mzhavanadze, Zakro Albutashvili, and Davit Sturua — were found guilty by the court. The court sentenced them to 5 years of imprisonment each.