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3w ago

Georgian Court Sentences Journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli to Two-Year Prison Term

Her appeal follows the freezing of her Batumelebi outlet’s bank accounts with EU member states denouncing Georgia’s tightening use of the judiciary to silence dissent.

FILE - Protesters hold banners calling for the release of jailed journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli as they march through the streets in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze, File)
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Several thousand demonstrators gather in front of the Georgian Public Broadcasting (GPB) building, block the avenue, and demonstrate all the way to the Parliament. They ask for the release of regime's prisoners and of Mzia Amaglobeli, who is on a hunger strike for 19 days. A protest against the Georgian government's postponement of European Union accession talks until 2028 takes place for the 63rd consecutive day in Tbilisi, Georgia, on January 29, 2025. (Photo by Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Overview

  • On August 6, the Batumi City Court found Amaghlobeli guilty of “resistance, threats or violence” against a government official after she slapped Batumi police chief Irakli Dgebuadze during a January protest, imposing a two-year sentence.
  • Rights groups including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders criticized the trial for procedural violations and admitted police abuse that went uninvestigated, such as verbal assaults and denial of medical care.
  • The Georgian government froze Batumelebi’s bank accounts following the conviction, jeopardizing the independent outlet’s operations and reflecting broader measures to curb critical media.
  • Amaghlobeli has lodged an appeal challenging the verdict and charge reduction from assault to resistance, as she maintains her actions were in response to police provocation.
  • Over 20 diplomatic missions and the European Commission have condemned the conviction, with EU officials warning they could revoke Georgia’s visa-free travel privileges if democratic standards do not improve by September.