One hundred days have passed since the unjust arrest of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, – Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, wrote on X.
She claimed that Mzia Amaglobeli has become a symbol of press freedom.
“Amid the increasing repression against independent media in the region, she has become a symbol of press freedom,” Zurabishvili wrote.
Mzia Amaglobeli, a prominent Georgian journalist and founder of the independent media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, has been detained since January 12, 2025, following an altercation with a police officer during an anti-government protest in Batumi. Charged with assaulting a police officer—a crime carrying a potential seven-year prison sentence—her arrest has been widely criticized as politically motivated and an attack on press freedom.
Amaglobeli initiated a hunger strike upon her arrest, which lasted 38 days, leading to severe health deterioration and hospitalization. Despite appeals from human rights organizations and media professionals, Georgian courts have upheld her pre-trial detention.
Her case has galvanized over 300 journalists in Georgia to demand her immediate release, highlighting concerns over increasing repression of independent media under the ruling Georgian Dream party. International bodies, including the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists, have also called for her release and condemned the broader crackdown on press freedom in Georgia.
