And yet someone else dares to raise their voice!

An investigation by the BBC revealed that the Georgian authorities may have used a World War I-era chemical agent — “Camite” (Bromobenzyl cyanide) — against protesters.

• It causes intense burning that cannot be washed away with water.
• It leads to difficulty breathing, coughing, and nausea.
• Its effects are long-lasting, persisting for days and even weeks.

This is the same substance France used against Germany in 1915–1916. It was later withdrawn from circulation due to its severe, prolonged, and potentially dangerous effects.

Camite is a chemical agent with strong neurological activity. It is extremely hazardous to humans and can cause:

• Anxiety, headaches, eye burning, tearing, nose and throat irritation
• Nausea, mental clouding, emotional instability
• In severe cases: breathing difficulties, unconsciousness, muscle spasms
• High doses or prolonged exposure can even be fatal

Camite affects the nervous system and disrupts the body’s natural reactions.

These are photos of my friend, who went through hell after the dispersal. Her face was in even worse condition, but I can’t post that. They inflicted real horror on people.

During the December 2024 dispersals, in addition to being caught up in the mass crackdowns, Keto was deliberately targeted one night by riot police. They sprayed something directly at her and her friend because they were filming people being beaten.

Those girls were kept in a separate room all night so that whatever gas‑like substance it was wouldn’t suffocate others as well. I only learned what had happened the next morning — they barely managed to bring her home.

She had also been caught in dispersals earlier, in the spring, but December was completely different. To this day she keeps the flag from that time. I recently took it out of a box, and I felt unwell the entire day.

I’m trying very hard to write this without excess emotion, and if it still sounds emotional, I apologize in advance. I raised my child through hardship.

A year has passed, and we still haven’t been able to determine the cause of Keto’s condition (I know it has to do with what happened, but I don’t know what exactly was damaged). Since December 2024, my child has been unwell every single day.

We treated inflammation of the airways and sinuses, but the nosebleeds continued. Blood pressure spikes to 160/110 and suddenly drops to 90/50. Her pulse is constantly above 120. Severe headaches and ringing in the ears lasted for months. When I list these symptoms, know that she experiences them daily.

We received the latest test results yesterday — now they are examining something related to her kidneys (because of the blood pressure). She has undergone tests I had never even heard of before; I didn’t know such tests existed.

She has been seen by:

• an endocrinologist
• an otolaryngologist
• a neurologist

And we have exhausted our wonderful family doctor, Julie Uberi, for an entire year now.

I know many people around me who are in the same condition. I myself went to Rustaveli a few days after a particularly violent dispersal, and I coughed all night because everything there was still saturated with gas or whatever substance it was.

Even if it costs me my life, I will help my child. We will help our country too — but for justice to be restored, I demand punishment for everyone without exception: from those who gave the orders to every single executor.

About Maiko’s case:

She passed away on April 5. When the investigator and others arrived, of course there were countless questions, and every possible version was discussed — including the fact that her mother had died from an aneurysm, and whether this could have been the same cause.

That same night I was summoned to give a statement, supposedly so that the forensic examination would not be delayed. You can imagine the condition I was in when I went to the police station, but I didn’t want the examination to be postponed. There, they questioned me in detail about her parents, and I told them that her mother had passed away.

We waited two months for the forensic report. In June, the investigator told me that the results had arrived, but that he could not tell me anything yet — he said he needed to summon the parents to the station. Once again, I reminded him that he could not summon the parents, because the mother was deceased.

Eventually, the investigator called Natia and told her that the forensic report was ready and that she should come to the station together with the parents. Natia explained again that the mother had died, but that she would bring the father.

The father went to the station — and do you know the very first thing they asked him?
“Where is your wife?”

Since June, we have been waiting for the prosecutor to close the case — a case that is only five pages long, including the forensic conclusion — and to return Maiko’s phone, which likely contains countless photos and videos of her.

We don’t know what they are waiting for. I go to the police station almost once a week. Sometimes I encounter a considerate officer who genuinely tries to find out something; other times I hear rude responses from an officer slouched in a chair. So far, everything has been in vain.

And today we find out that it may have been cyanide poisoning — that this could be the reason behind everything.

My head is in complete chaos right now, and I am so angry. Only Maiko could calm me down — but now…

This photo was taken on April 17, 2024. I don’t remember exactly whether it was that day or one of the following days, but during one of the protests against the so-called “Russian law,” a gas canister exploded right next to my right leg. Of course, this poison was neither the first nor the last I was exposed to, but that night—probably due to excessive exposure to toxic substances—we went through a real nightmare.

My right eye was severely affected, while Levan developed serious breathing problems that lasted for about a month after that day.

Afterward, even heavier events followed in my life, and I was crying every day; my eyes were already swollen and damaged. Only months later, when my mother passed away and I cried less, did I realize that my right eye was not recovering. That was when I understood that that night had left me with something permanent.

I am still like this today—one eye is different, and I am taking numerous medications. During last winter’s crackdowns, I could no longer go into the epicenter of the protests and mostly stayed around the Opera area, because even exposure from a distance to the chemicals dispersed in the air would almost blind me.

It turns out Ivanishvili “gifted” us cyanide.

Am I surprised? Not at all. Every single one of my friends suffered from similar—or even worse—symptoms during those crackdowns.

Do I feel like a victim? Not at all. No one among us can be a victim of a pathetic bastard like Ivanishvili, even if we were all to die. Compared to this bitter, miserable nothingness, I will always and everywhere be happier, richer, and freer.