Daughters of Maro – 9 April 2025

Victory to the parents!

Let’s hope we won’t keep going in circles for much longer, and that something hopeful awaits ahead.
The parents of political prisoners are standing at the April 9 Memorial.
Source: Sopho Aptsiauri

On April 9, one of the heroes who was killed, Eliso Chipashvili, was just 25 years old.
She worked as a hospital orderly at the Republican Hospital.
She was six months pregnant when she joined the protest.

That night, a Russian soldier had hit a child, and Eliso shielded the child.
Then the Russian turned to her.
“I’m pregnant, don’t hit me,” she pleaded.
But he struck her even more viciously, saying: “Ishchyo luchshe!” (“Even better!”).

…
36 years later, we are still dealing with the same kind of brutality, only now it comes with Georgian names.

Source: Ashkarad

Eto Bichikashvili on the border of the protest line

video: Mari Gulbiani

“The so-called government calls those of us gathered here ‘unpatriotic,’ but let them compete with us in love for our homeland.”
— Nana Makharadze, the woman with the flag, symbol of April 9
Source: Formula

Photos: Yuri Mechitov / Mo Se

In this footage, you can see and hear how we asked a priest for help, and then you hear an 18-year-old girl, who had been out all night, crying out, “It hurts.” We will find you — we’ll pull you out from underground for beating children!

Police in Zugdidi forcibly removed citizens from the April 9 memorial. Shortly after, government representatives arrived at the site.

Video by: Mariam Sichinava