“People are rotting, it has turned into Kvarkvare’s prison - prisoners are sticking their legs out of the windows, there is no space left,” said Avtandil Surmanidze, who was detained in connection with the events that took place near the Atoneli Palace on October 4.

He called on the judge to take an interest in the conditions inside the prison.

“We are all in prison for nothing. I want every prisoner’s health condition in Prison No. 8 to be reviewed - people who have been to Khoni three or four times, those with HIV, everyone is being kept together. I want this to be reconsidered. My request is that this problem be addressed - both to the judge and to journalists.

People are rotting, it has turned into Kvarkvare’s prison - prisoners have their legs hanging out of the windows, there is no space left,” Surmanidze stated.

The defendant Mariam Mekantsishvili also made a brief statement.

“They are talking about some video, but they have presented no evidence - neither before nor after - of what actually happened. I am facing an absurd charge. Every day I come here, I have to miss work, which is inconvenient for me. I hope a verdict will be reached soon,” Mekantsishvili said.

For reference, in connection with the events of October 4 near the Atoneli Palace, Beka Kelekhsashvili, Mamuka Labuchidze, Guriela Kardava, Vakhtang Fitskhelauri, Alexander Khabeishvili, Abo Naveriani, Anton Uper, Avtandil Surmanidze, Giorgi Muladze, and Temur Kurtsikidze have been charged under Article 19–222, Part 2, Subparagraph “a” of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns the attempted seizure and blockage of strategic and especially important facilities committed by a group. They have also been charged under Article 225, Part 2 of the Criminal Code, which concerns participation in group violence.

Mariam Mekantsishvili has been charged under Article 226 of the Criminal Code, which concerns the organization of group actions. She has been released on bail as a preventive measure.

As for another defendant in the same case, Nana Sanders, she has been charged under Article 225, Part 1 of the Criminal Code, which concerns the organization of group violence and carries a sentence of 6 to 9 years’ imprisonment. She has also been charged under Article 317 of the Criminal Code, which involves calls for the violent overthrow of Georgia’s constitutional order and state authority, carrying a sentence of up to 9 years’ imprisonment.