Activist Mekhantishvili says she will join her ‘fellow fighters’ to defend ‘our freedom and voice’

Georgian activist Mariam Mekhantishvili, who was released from detention on Saturday after posting a ₾10,000 ($3,704) bail, said she plans to return to Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi this evening to stand alongside her fellow protesters.

“If it were not for my fellow fighters, for all the public activity and noise around my case, I would have been imprisoned like the other four,” Mekhantishvili told TV Pirveli.

“That is why resistance matters. We must raise our voices for everyone who is treated unjustly, for those who stand on Rustaveli simply to express their opinion. It is absurd to arrest people just for that”, she added.

Mekhantishvili noted she intends to join her fellow protesters tonight and “take every possible measure to defend our freedom and our right to express our views.”

She was arrested on Friday and charged by the Prosecutor’s Office with organising group actions during the October 4 rally.