Parents of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are holding a protest outside the Administration of the Government of Georgia building; they have brought bean bags to the site.
However, police blocked their path to prevent the protesters from placing them in front of the administration building.
This led to a verbal altercation on the scene — the parents placed the bean bags directly on the road and sat on them.
According to the protesters, since the police did not allow them to set up tents, they decided to bring “bean bags” as they intend to spend the night at the location.
“We all have the right to sit in a public square; we all have the right to bring bean bags and sit on them. The police are violating citizens’ rights. Let the Public Defender (Ombudsman) come!” the participants declared.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a rare hereditary disorder characterized by the progressive weakening and breakdown of muscles.
Specialists state that the disease almost exclusively affects boys and is linked to a mutation in a gene responsible for “protecting” muscle cells. As a result, the muscles become increasingly weak over time.
The first signs usually appear in early childhood (around ages 2–5): the child finds it harder to run, jump, or climb stairs, falls more frequently, and tires quickly. Sometimes children rise from the floor by using their hands to “climb up” their own bodies.
Over time, the disease progresses, and by approximately their early teens, many children lose the ability to walk independently.