Parents of Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Meet Public Defender Over Medicine Access
By Messenger Staff
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Parents of children suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy met with Public Defender Levan Ioseliani on Wednesday, raising concerns over access to treatment and the violation of their right to assembly and expression.
"Our children have the right to life and the state is obliged to do everything to protect life," said parent Kakha Tsikarishvili. "Today the state does not protect the right to life of our children and today the state violates our right to assembly and expression as parents."
Zakro Gvishiani, chairman of the organization "Together to Fight Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy," said the parents walked Ioseliani through violations that had occurred, starting with their core demand of access to medicines. "We have been unable to receive proper conditions in this process and we have to be there in inappropriate conditions," he said, adding that the parents agreed to provide the Public Defender with full documentation and evidence, with the expectation of an immediate response to each reported violation.
Ioseliani called the meeting important and urged the government to respect the parents' right to expression. "I call on the government to protect their expression standards and allow them to express themselves in the way they consider necessary," he said. He also offered to facilitate communication between the parents and relevant state agencies, describing the parents as "quite constructive" and expressing hope that "the state will also have such an approach and this process will be successfully completed."
