“The regime is poisoning us, an international investigation should be conducted” - this is the slogan under which a protest march is currently underway.

Citizens who initially gathered near the Philharmonic are marching to the Parliament. The protest participants are demanding an international investigation into the substance used in the water cannon when the police cracked down on protesters in November-December 2024.

According to the protesters, they do not trust the local investigation and are demanding an international investigation to find out the truth.

They are holding banners with the following inscriptions:

The march participants have blocked the road.

Opposition politicians are also present at the rally.

According to the BBC, the evidence gathered by them suggets that Georgia's authorities used a World War One-era chemical weapon to quell anti-government protesters last year. "Demonstrators against the Georgian government's suspension of its European Union accession bid have complained of shortness of breath, coughing, and vomiting that lasted for weeks.”

The BBC World Service has spoken to chemical weapons experts, whistleblowers from Georgia's riot police, and doctors, and found the evidence points to the use of an agent that the French military named "camite".