Batumi, Georgia: The Public Defender of Georgia Levan Ioseliani visited the Georgian prison to meet the detained Journalist Mzia Amaglobeli on January 21, 2025. He also checked the conditions of his accommodation and the status of protection of his rights.
The Georgian Public Defender personally heard from the journalist about the circumstances of the arrest and possible misconduct carried out by the police. They also talked about the charging case and the imprisonment used.
About Mzia Amaglobeli’s Arrest
Mzia Amaglobeli is a well-known journalist and director of the newspaper ‘Batumelebi‘ and the online publication ‘Netgazeti.‘ She was arrested on January 11, 2024, during a protest in front of the Batumi Police Department.
After being arrested, Mzia Amaglobeli was officially charged with attacking a police officer on January 12. She was charged under Article 353 of the Georgian Criminal Code (“Assault on a police officer, a special penitentiary service employee, or another public official or institution”).
After investigation, it was later found that the police officer, which the Journalist assaulted was Irakli Dgebuadze, the head of the city of Batumi’s police force.
It was also found that Amaglobeli was arrested twice on the same day. She was first arrested when police blamed her for posting a sticker on social media, calling the citizens for a strike at the administrative building, and was briefly released but later re-arrested on criminal charges of assaulting a police officer.
The trustees of the Public Defender visited Mzia Ambiglabeli on the day of arrest, in the isolation of temporary detention and then in the prison.
About the Court of Appeal of Kutaisi
During the public defender’s meeting with Mzia Amglobeli, he told her about the legal actions performed by the ombudsman, including the opinion of a friend of the court, which the Ombudswoman addressed to the Court of Appeal of Kutaisi.
The Ombudsman expects that the Court of Appeal of Kutaisi will take into account the circumstances mentioned in the court’s friend’s opinion and consider the application of appropriate and proportional restraining measures against Mzia Amglobeli.
