Georgia - January 2025

A leading media executive was sentenced to pre-trial detention on 12 January while she faces trial for slapping a police officer during an argument outside of a police station. Mzia Amaghlobeli, the founder of Georgian media outlets Netgazeti and Batumelebi, was arrested during a protest against the Georgian government’s repressive response to nationwide protests in December and January. Georgia’s media community, 14 embassies, the EU Human Rights Commissioner, and international politicians have called for Amaghlobeli to be released while she awaits trial, arguing her detention is without legal basis and intended to punish her for her media outlets’ investigations into human rights abuses and official corruption. The arrest comes as part of a wider crackdown on media and protest, including police violence, that has been criticized by international and domestic human rights monitors and press freedom organizations. As of 6 February, Amaghobeli had been on a hunger strike protesting her continued pre-trial detention for 25 days.

Update: Amaghobeli was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on 6 August. The initial charge of assaulting a police officer, which carried a minimum sentence of four years imprisonment, was downgraded to resisting arrest by the presiding judge. International and domestic human rights and press freedom groups condemned the sentence as unwarranted and politically motivated.

Sources: Eurasianet (1), Eurasianet (2), OC Media, Interpress, BBC, Committee to Protect Journalists, Batumelebi