“When an illegitimate government rules a country and political prisoners are held, radical protest becomes a necessity,” stated Gedevan Popkhadze, a member of the Coalition for Change, during an interview on PalitranNews.

He explained that some people may engage in such an assistance action in shifts.

“It is not my decision; Ivanishvili is the one who has decided that I should go on hunger strike. Those who understand that this is the right form of protest, who join us and stand together, know very well that this isn’t just a protest against an unjust process. It’s an existential crisis inflicted by Ivanishvili’s regime on Georgia.

They are beginning to isolate our country, determined to erase everything in their bid to cling to power and establish a dictatorship. Such a situation cannot be addressed with mere academic forms of protest. When an illegitimate government rules a country and political prisoners are held, radical action is essential. If we combine solidarity with the hunger strike itself, it becomes clear that a 24-hour protest is our only solution, that the protest effort must be continuous.

We are already engaged in a protest against certain restrictions. We have stepped out of our comfort zone and are here 24 hours a day. If there is a 24-hour support group, it will require tents, and these tents will be part of the protest. If there is a hunger strike support group, it’s unnatural that there is no solidarity group for the hunger strike. In a 24-hour regime, we will need the support of friends and like-minded individuals. Soon, we will no longer be able to look after each other alone. With this protest, we must demonstrate that there is no alternative to a continuous, 24-hour presence; someone might take shifts. If we stay here 24 hours a day, then others can be there for three, four, six hours,” Popkhadze emphasised.