“I am unwell, I cannot speak — my imprisonment will first lead to my daughter’s death, and then to my own death in prison,” said Eva Shashiashvili, who was detained in connection with the October 4 events, during her court hearing.

Before the defendant’s statement, her lawyer, Mariam Khachapuridze, said in her opening remarks that the accused was protesting her situation and did not intend to seize anything.

“Eva Shashiashvili is a cancer patient and also suffers from various other illnesses. She contacted the Social Service Agency asking to be added to the list so she could obtain medication for her child, who is a person with disabilities. They told her to ‘leave them alone,’ essentially saying ‘go bang your head against a wall,’ but the state should consider who ends up getting hit by that stone. She was protesting her living conditions, not attempting to seize anything,” said Mariam Khachapuridze.

After the lawyer’s opening statement, another defendant in the same case, Aleksandre Gogoladze, addressed the judge and called for Eva Shashiashvili’s release, and the other defendants supported his words.

“There are six of us sitting in a prison cell. When I heard about Eva Shashiashvili’s situation on the cell TV, I started crying, and only one person in the cell said, ‘What happened next?’

I, Aleksandre Gogoladze, take responsibility for her offense — please let Eva Shashiashvili go home,” said Gogoladze.