The residents of Shukruti, a village in Georgia’s western Chiatura region, have been protesting mining under their village carried out by Georgian Manganese for years. In September, they relocated their protest to Georgia’s Parliament in Tbilisi, demanding that the government intervene in their dispute with the mining company.

Those protesting around the clock in front of parliament are constantly exposed to the elements as the weather grows colder, with at least six of them on hunger strike.

This week, we spoke with OC Media’s co-director and journalist Mariam Nikuradze about the conditions of the protesters and how the authorities have been treating them in Tbilisi, and to the Social Justice Center’s Salome Shubladze about their demands and the ongoing legal dispute between the protesters and Georgian Manganese.

Read more:

• Dying on the steps of parliament — Georgia’s Shukrutians make last bid for their homes

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