I was baptized as an activist today!
And I stood exactly where every mother should have stood — beside the mothers of conscience prisoners!

On March 3rd, the fifth president — Salome Zourabichvili — was fined 5,000 GEL for participating in the Mothers’ March.

Watch this video carefully. Remember those faces well.
Do you see how they charge at the women?
Do you see what they’re doing to them?
Can you hear my voice shouting, “You’re choking them!”?

Someone was being choked — the grip on their neck was so tight, and all I could think while pulling at the person’s hand was:
“Will they arrest me for this?” Do you understand?

They beat us, they hit us, they abuse us, and we can’t even defend ourselves!

Even when you try to protect yourself, all you think is how they might twist it and turn it against you.

Then my voice again — “On what grounds are you throwing us out of here?”
How many times did I ask that?
I kept asking everyone, over and over — even inside, when they were dragging me, and outside too, when I caught up with someone.

No response.
No answer.
Only violence!

Public reactions following the verdict of Mate Devize
Mate Devidze was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison for swinging a stick at a police officer.

I was already outside, having been thrown out, and I was telling one of the zombie-like police officers standing there:
“They didn’t even let me put my shoe back on — they threw me out like that!”
(Earlier, I had fallen several times because of this open shoe — it’s a so-called platform style, and my foot kept twisting while being dragged, shoved, and crushed.)

At that moment, one of the court marshals came at me, shoved me with full force, deliberately, and slammed me onto the stone floor.

About 50 police officers saw it happen — and not a single one moved.
Tears were falling from my eyes as I lay on the ground looking at them, asking:
“How can you just stand there and do nothing?”
Not one of them reacted…

Yes, the bruises are just multiplying at home.
My foot hit the stone, and that’s the only reason I didn’t smash my head.

One of the marshals — neither before nor after (I caught him outside later) — could tell me under which article of the law we were thrown out of court and beaten on top of that.
I couldn’t get an answer — no explanation at all for why we were kicked out.

I’ll tell the rest tomorrow.