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Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, in prison for abuse of power, has gone on a second hunger strike three months after the end of his first protest, with the convicted politician telling the public on Monday the decision is a “reaction to the regime” and for a “better future for Georgia”.

Saakashvili announced the beginning of his hunger strike at a hearing of his trial concerning the illegal dispersal of an opposition rally in central Tbilisi on November 7, 2007. The former president told the court “if necessary, you will see how true presidents and true leaders die with a head held high. I declare a permanent hunger strike from today.”

At today’s hearing, Saakashvili also read a letter sent by his doctor from the Netherlands, with the note forbidding the former president to go on a hunger strike again following his previous action, saying it could cause “irreversible and lethal consequences.”