Students and youth groups are keeping up the pressure on the government ahead of the October 1 election. (Photo: Mari Nikuradze.)

TBILISI, DFWatch – «Your Democracy Hurts” — this is one of the messages students have been sending to the government through their demonstrations all over the capital for the last week.

The demonstrations against torture in the prisons continue. About eleven student organizations and groups today demonstrated from Tbilisi State University to downtown by Rustaveli Avenue, moving to the government building with posters yelling different messages.

The students use through different kinds of protest, including performances. Also well-known young singers recorded a joint video clip dedicating their song to the recent events.  The song has been performed at protests during the last week and the video has already gone viral on social networks.

Today a group of sportsmen marched from the Sports Ministry to Tbilisi State University to join the students.

“System Should Destroy,” this is another message often heard participants yelling in the streets and seen on posters.

“We should raise our voices and say that no such thing should happen, we should stand together now and after the election,” rugby player Bacho Kolelishvili said in his appeal to the students.

Each day new texts are seen on student’s posters. Today there could be read the following: “One Misha, one party, many tortures, many lies!”, “Arrest one of us, two more appear, you can’t arrest the idea,” “Mr. President, are you fuckin’ kidding me?”

The students blocked the street during their demonstration. The final destination was the government building, where they read an appeal to the government signed by the participants.

The appeal says that students and Georgian youth condemn the current situation in the country, which makes them protest.

“Today all of us, hostages of the regime, oblige government that we hired, to be responsible for each crime including all officials to ordinary prison guards.”

The students demand to punish all those who were responsible for controlling the penitentiary system in the country but failed to do so; those who should have protected each prisoner’s rights under the constitution, which guarantees them protection of their human rights.

“You should provide health care to them, as we have information that the government is indifferent to their health care.”

The students also call on the government to conduct a fair election.

They took their appeal to the government building and ended Wednesday’s demonstration.

Rallies are planned for Thursday as well; however Laboratoria 1918, which is one of the most active student organizations, stated that they will stop participating in rallies from now and until the election.

They will express their protest in other ways, like protest concerts and performances.

They say they’ve managed to demonstrate their own powers, now it is necessary to continue in peaceful ways, but when a new government is elected, they will present their demands to it.

But Laboratoria 1918 will join other student organizations, also at Thursday’s rally, which is organized by Davitiani.