“If a sacrifice is needed, let it be me. I refuse to accept the regime’s agenda. Freedom is far more valuable than life, and it is at stake. Fight before it is too late.”
Mzia Amaglobeli.
It has been more than one month since Mzia Amaglobeli — founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, two of Georgia’s most well-regarded independent media platforms – was arrested. She has been on hunger strike ever since.
Due to the critical risk of organ failure, Amaglobeli was relocated to a hospital outside of Tbilisi. The refusal by Batumi court to lift her pre-trial detention period, the strictest measure possible, means that she must remain in detainment until her trial on March 4th. The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner says her pre-trial detention for assaulting a police officer is unjustified.
On January 11th, Amaglobeli was detained twice outside the police station in highly contentious circumstances, during a protest against the Georgian Dream (GD) party in the Black Sea port of Batumi. Some have drawn parallels between Mzia’s case and the citizen who slapped French President Macron across the face in 2021. While he served a 4-month prison term, Mzia faces 4-7 years. The legality of Mzia Amaglobeli’s arrest, detention, and charges can be accessed here in a publication by Transparency International Georgia.
Mzia’s ongoing story is a manifestation of the dire democratic backsliding taking place across Georgia for years, as evidenced by the ‘foreign agent’ and anti-LGBT laws. The Georgian Dream party, which has been ruling since 2012 with an increasingly authoritarian hand, announced its decision to halt the country’s European integration efforts until 2028. Since that day in late November, protests erupted across the country and haven’t stopped since.
The announcement to halt accession was made one month after the “fundamentally flawed” parliamentary elections took place and GD “orchestrated an unconstitutional usurpation of power” according to the European Parliament. Legitimization of the Georgian Dream as the ruling government was thus refused by President Salome Zurabishvili, the opposition political forces, and a large part of civil society. Likewise, the legitimacy of the GD presidential pick, Mikheil Kavelashvili, remains in question.
“… only new elections can restore the Georgian people’s confidence in their government’s legitimacy.”
Daniel Twining, President of International Republican Institute.
Estonia was the first to impose sanctions against GD founder and billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili followed by Latvia, Lithuania, and the United States. To shield the consequences of international sanctions on his high-end international properties and companies, Ivanishvili has restructured his assets and transferred ownership of several firms locally.
On February 13th, the European Parliament adopted a resolution with overwhelming support on the “Further deterioration of the political situation in Georgia.” Members of the parliament called on the EU to withhold recognition of the GD’s self-proclaimed government, to impose sanctions on Ivanishvili and his elite entourage, to conduct new elections, and to “immediately cease violent repression against peaceful protesters, political opponents, and media representatives.”
Today’s crackdown on dissent is part of the increased pressure and hostile environment that the media faces in Georgia. It sends a calculated message to independent journalists that speaking truth to power will be met with humiliation, intimidation, and exemplary punishment. Several journalists have required medical intervention and surgery after targeted physical and verbal assaults by riot police or hired thugs called titushky. The chronicles of such resistance and repression have been meticulously monitored by this liveblog. Not a single official has faced consequences for documented human rights violations on both journalists and protesters.
“We’ve seen Guram Rogava of Formula and Mariam Gaprindashvili, Maka Chikhladze, and Giorgi Shetsiruli of TV Pirveliall attacked live on TV while they were covering the dispersal of pro-European protests on Rustaveli Avenue. All of those listed above received serious injuries — some of them, according to doctors, were life-threatening. Rogava has had to wear a cast for months, and is still unable to work,” wrote journalist Mariam Nikuradze of Open Caucasus Media.
Despite the brutal police repression, protesters nationwide approach day 100 on the streets in their continued call for new elections and the release of all illegally arrested during the attacks, assaults, and home raids by special forces. These demands have been answered with escalating violence, more arrests, and increased detainment periods. Such patterns of rights violations and crackdowns increasingly echo the playbook of the Belarusian and Russian regimes.
Of the 51 political prisoners that currently await trial, Amaglobeli is the only woman among them. “Mzia is the first female prisoner of conscience [in Georgia],” said Eter Turadze, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Batumelebi/Netgazeti.
Watch Eter’s statement regarding the arrest of her colleague Mzia Amaglobeli.
Mzia understands the consequences of her hunger strike. While her colleagues have published an emotional open letter urging her to end the strike, their concern for her wellbeing must be understood in the context of her courageous stand. She is putting her life on the line in the name of freedom. Mzia Amaglobeli represents what the regime fears: a fearless journalist on the frontlines, who has built platforms dedicated to exposing corruption and human rights violations at the highest levels of government.
This is not just Mzia’s fight—it is a fight for free speech, for Georgia’s future, and for all unlawfully detained prisoners: Zviad Tsetskhladze, Temur Katamadze, Anri Kakabadze, and the list continues. Democracy is under threat when political imprisonment becomes the norm. Civil society, international organizations, and individuals must hold governments accountable. Today, it is Mzia, but tomorrow, it could be anyone who dares to speak out. We must “fight before it is too late,” as Mzia proclaimed in a letter from prison.
Sign the petition here. change.org
I had the privilege of meeting Mzia in the Batumelebi office when I first arrived in Batumi. Before even stepping foot in Georgia, the open tabs on my laptop were overwhelmed with articles from her publications to better understand the country I’d be spending the next 10 months. Upon arrival, she invited me to sit in her office and proceeded to provide her undivided attention and advice on building trust among the local community. It felt like a full-circle moment that I will never forget, especially as the fight for her release intensifies. The journalists in the Batumelebi office have double-downed in their tireless and fierce effort to cover the ever-changing news. If there is one resounding message that I’ve heard from her friends and colleagues, all of whom mirror her headstrong nature, it is that they will not be giving up any time soon. Neither will she.
