The European Union expresses solidarity with Mzia Amaglobeli and calls for her immediate release.
This statement was issued by the EU Delegation to Georgia.
“EU stands in solidarity with Mzia Amaglobeli on the 17th day of her hunger strike and calls on her immediate release. Free media and the right to a fair trial is at the core of EU values,” the statement reads.
Mzia Amaglobeli was arrested on January 12. On January 14, Batumi City Court Judge Nino Sakhelashvili remanded her in custody. Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Kutaisi Court of Appeal on January 16, arguing that her detention was “unjustified.”
However, on January 21, the Kutaisi Court of Appeals rejected the appeal and kept the journalist in pre-trial detention.
On January 20, it became known that Amaglobeli had begun a hunger strike, which she continues to this day. Protests demanding her release have intensified, with journalists and activists calling for justice.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski also expressed solidarity with Mzia Amaglobeli.
“I’m really shocked with the hunger strike of Ms. Mzia from Batumi,” Herczynski told journalists.
He claimed that the European Union really wants Georgia to succeed.
