Day: August 6, 2025
Batumi City Court sentenced veteran journalist and Batumelebi/Netgazeti founder Mzia Amaghlobeli to two years in prison on charges of “resistance, threat, or violence against a public official” over slapping Batumi Police Chief Irakli Dgebuadze during a tense night of protests and arrests in January.
While Judge Nino Sakhelashvili’s last-minute decision to reclassify the initial charge of “assaulting a police officer” was seen by some as a retreat from the judiciary’s earlier hardline stance on protest-related cases, opposition figures, rights groups, and foreign diplomats have condemned the verdict as a troubling escalation in Georgia’s crackdown on dissent.
Civil.ge has compiled a selection of domestic and international reactions to Amaghlobeli’s sentencing. This article will be updated as new comments come in.
International Reactions
Joint Statement of 24 diplomatic missions in Georgia: “We the diplomatic missions of Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, representing member countries of the Media Freedom Coalition and aligned embassies to Georgia, condemn the disproportionate and politicized sentencing of Mzia Amaglobeli to 2 years in prison. Mzia Amaglobeli’s case is further aggravated by her prolonged pretrial detention, during which her health condition and especially eyesight has deteriorated significantly.
The case of Mzia Amaglobeli and the pressure on Batumelebi and Netgazeti exemplify the escalating intimidation of journalists in Georgia, including unpunished violence and legal persecution, in clear violation of the country’s international obligations to protect media freedom and freedom of expression. We repeat the message of the Media Freedom Coalition statement of 20 December 2024, condemning all intimidation and violence against journalists and media workers. We express our solidarity with Mzia Amaglobeli and call for her immediate release.”
Cloonie Foundation for Justice/TrialWatch: “Mzia Amaglobeli’s conviction places Georgia among a growing number of countries using criminal law to silence journalists and curtail free speech – especially at times of political instability, when people need access to independent journalism most,” said Kate Levine, Senior Legal Program Manager at TrialWatch. TrialWatch monitored Amaglobeli’s trial and will share its in-depth evaluation of it, grading it against international fair trial standards, in a forthcoming Fairness Report.”
Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia: “Mzia Amaghlobeli was subjected to a litany of abuses at the hands of the police: verbally assaulted, spat on, injured and then refused medical help. This was admitted by police officers during her trial, yet impunity has prevailed. The proceedings were riddled with procedural violations and bias, and the court refused to admit much of the defence’s submissions and investigate credible allegations of ill-treatment by police officials. Mzia Amaghlobeli must receive a fair trial, and the abuses she has suffered must also be independently investigated and addressed to ensure justice.”
Rasa Juknevičienė, Lithuanian MEP, Standing Rapporteur for Georgia: “Mzia Amaghlobeli just sentenced to 2 years in prison. This is not just political persecution of a brilliant journalist. Mzia has become a symbol of Georgian’s fight for a European future. Ivanishvili’s regime is killing freedom and democracy faster than the Kremlin did in Russia.”
Sergey Lagodinsky, German MEP and Co-President of Euronest Parliamentary Assembly: “Mzia has just been sentenced to 2 years of prison. As an MEP and Co-President of Euronest, I reiterate our call from January: Immediate release of Mzia Amaghlobeli, a brave journalist who has spent over 200 days in custody for a single slap. While she has been on trial Georgian authorities are doubling down: seizing the assets of Batumelebi/Netgazeti under tax claims as pressure increases. Protest is not a crime! Journalism is not a threat! Georgian ruling party must abandon the path of prosecutions and respect press freedom.”
Domestic Reactions
Salome Zurabishvili, Georgia’s Fifth President: “The regime is paralyzed-too cowardly to free Mzia Amaghlobeli, too weak to convict her. It hides behind delays, hoping to survive. But her strength exposed their fear. This isn’t justice. It’s a dying authoritarian system. And we won’t stop!”
Giorgi Gakharia, leader of the opposition party For Georgia: “Georgian Dream crossed every political and legal red line long ago. Today, it stepped beyond any human or moral boundary. In doing so, it passed the harshest verdict on itself. Mzia Amaghlobeli now stands as a symbol of unbreakable dignity. We all stand with her in this fight.”
Tina Bokuchava, Chair of the Unity-UNM: “Today, in that courtroom, we witnessed one woman’s revolution against the regime. Today, through her silence, Mzia Amaghlobeli has already overthrown Bidzina Ivanishvili […]. With her strength, resilience, determination, and struggle, this one woman, before our eyes, exposed and toppled the regime. We must consolidate this energy and bring down this regime that commits such injustice against a woman […] Mzia Amaghlobeli is a proud, strong, patriotic Georgian woman. But [Irakli] Dgebuadze is not a man; this was seen by the entire country.”
Lelo/Strong Georgia: “The regime will be defeated! Mzia Amaghlobeli will be free!”
More to follow…
Ukrainians on hunger strike at Verkhny Lars
According to Echo of the Caucasus, five Ukrainian citizens deported from Russia and held in a basement near the Dariali checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border have declared an open-ended hunger strike.
Russia has been transferring Ukrainian nationals to the Georgian border after sentencing them in occupied territories of Ukraine. In most cases, the individuals were serving their sentences in Russian penal colonies, where they had been moved from occupied territories against their will.
According to Georgian authorities, most of the Ukrainian nationals currently at the border were convicted of serious crimes and lack the necessary documents to cross into Georgia.
One of the hunger strikers, Serhii Larko, told Echo of the Caucasus that the group intends to submit a formal notice to Georgian border guards announcing the start of their protest.
“I, Serhii Oleksiyovych Larko, declare an open-ended hunger strike in protest against the unlawful actions of Georgian border guards and the violation of my rights,” Larko said in a personal statement.
According to one of the Ukrainian nationals, he was deported from Russia on 21 June 2025. Upon arrival in Georgia, he said his passport was confiscated and biometric data was collected without his consent.
“I was placed in inhumane conditions in the basement of the Dariali checkpoint, where 97 people are being held, some of whom are living with HIV or suffering from tuberculosis. I was denied entry to Georgia, refused asylum, legal assistance, and the right to challenge my detention,” Larko said.
The hunger strikers are demanding a meeting with a Ukrainian consul, an explanation for their detention, the right to leave Georgia, and access to medical examinations.
Ukrainians on hunger strike at Verkhny Lars
News from Georgia