Georgian Media Community Denounces Detention of Mzia Amaghlobeli as Press Freedoms Crumble

January 27, 2025 – Georgia – 

Prominent journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, co-founder and director of independent outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, was arrested on January 11, 2025, during Batumi anti-government protests. Initially detained over placing a strike sticker, she was released on bail but rearrested shortly afterward for allegedly slapping Batumi’s police chief—charges that carry a potential prison sentence of four to seven years.

Her arrest prompted urgent concern and condemnation. Over 300 Georgian media professionals—journalists, editors, and media managers—signed a strong statement on January 27, warning that Amaghlobeli’s arrest marks a “new phase” in the government’s persecution of critical journalism. They declared her Georgia’s first female journalist prisoner of conscience, accusing oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili’s regime of targeting her for her impartial reporting and civil activism.

Observers say Georgia’s media space has sharply eroded. The government has implemented repressive laws such as the “Russian-style foreign influence” transparency law in 2024, and media workers now face frequent verbal and physical threats. The statement emphasized that, since Amaghlobeli’s detention, any journalist could similarly be at risk merely for practicing their profession.

Amaghlobeli began a hunger strike on January 12 to protest what she described as unjust detention. By late January, after more than 30 days without food, her health had dangerously declined. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association noted her life was at risk. On January 31, medical documentation was finally provided to her legal team; she was transferred to a hospital in early February, ending her hunger strike on February 18 under medical supervision.

International bodies, including the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), OSCE media freedom representatives, EU embassies, the Council of Europe, and PEN International, have urged her immediate release. They criticized the detention as politically motivated, disproportionate, and part of a broader crackdown threatening Georgia’s European democratic aspirations.

Amaghlobeli’s case symbolizes what critics describe as a slide toward autocracy: suppressing independent media, intimidating dissenters, limiting free speech, and adopting legal tactics reminiscent of Russian and Belarusian playbooks. The media community warns that without urgent reversal, Georgia risks dismantling its press freedom and democratic gains

Reference – 

https://www.qartia.ge/en/news/article/99576-statement-by-journalists-editors-and-media-managers-on-the-arrest-of-mzia-amaghlobeli-and-the-deteriorating-media-environment-in-georgia

Statement by Journalists, Editors, and Media Managers on the Arrest of Mzia Amaghlobeli and the Deteriorating Media Environment in Georgia

https://civil.ge/archives/656557