Mzia Amaglobeli
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia now has its first woman prisoner of conscience, founder and editor of 'Netgazeta' and the newspaper 'Batumelebi' Mzia Amaglobeli. "But we also have thousands of strong, courageous women who fight for freedom and justice!" — said the editor of the newspaper 'Batumelebi' Eter Turadze to the correspondent.
Mzia Amaglobeli was detained twice on the evening of January 11 this year. She was first detained for holding a sign that read: "Georgia will strike on January 15". Earlier, Mzia Amaglobeli's employee Tsiala Katamidze was detained for posting this sign. Mzia Amaglobeli arrived at the rally precisely after this incident to help her employee. About two hours later, Mzia Amaglobeli was released on bail, but was soon detained again near the Main Police Department of Adjara.
On the night of January 11, Mzia Amaglobeli was detained twice, the first time for posting a sign, and the second time for slapping the head of Batumi police Irakli Dgebuadze, which was caught on camera (Irakli Dgebuadze spat on Mzia). She is held in custody under the Criminal Code, specifically under the article on assaulting a police officer. The prosecutor's office charged Mzia Amaglobeli under Article 353, Part 1 of the Criminal Code — she is accused of assaulting the head of Batumi police Irakli Dgebuadze.
Mzia Amaglobeli's lawyer Maia Mtsariashvili visited her yesterday in the Rustavi women's colony. As the lawyer noted in a conversation with the correspondent, her client looks composed and is preparing for the trial on March 18. The lawyer claims that the arrest of Mzia Amaglobeli is unfounded both from the point of view of administrative law and from the point of view of the Criminal Code. According to Mtsariashvili, the charges against her are also unfounded. They discussed these issues during the meeting. According to Mtsariashvili, Amaglobeli is following the processes happening in the country and is concerned about the situation.
Mzia Amaglobeli went on a hunger strike for 38 days. On the 3rd day of her hunger strike, the director of the 'Vivamed' clinic Giorgi Chkhaidze announced live on TV 'Formula' that if Mzia does not stop the hunger strike, the outcome will be fatal. He urged Mzia's friends and relatives to convince her to stop the hunger strike. They managed to persuade Mzia.
Mzia Amaglobeli
The Court of Appeals did not allow Mzia to be released on bail. Opponents of the authorities say that this cannot be a reason for denying bail, and that since the police officer was not injured, such cases usually do not proceed in practice. Accordingly, the opposition-minded part of the Georgian public believes that Amaglobeli was detained illegally, solely because she represents independent media.
In the cities of Georgia, solidarity actions with Amaglobeli have been held daily for 107 days. And with other political prisoners. One of the protesters' slogans is "No justice, no peace!" The EU ambassador to Georgia, Pawel Herczynski, said he was shocked by the Amaglobeli case.
"...Preliminary detention on a criminal charge against a middle-aged woman... who allegedly 'beat' a police officer! While we all saw brutal beatings — women were beaten by masked people, and no one was held accountable. This is unprecedented... What has been happening in Tbilisi and other cities in recent days is absolutely unprecedented. And also the complete lack of willingness of the authorities to listen to the people...", — said Herczynski on January 28.
In support of Amaglobeli, a statement was made by Nobel Peace Prize laureate journalist Maria Ressa, whose book 'How to Defeat a Dictator' Mzia Amaglobeli held in her hands at the court hearing on her own case.
The fifth president of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, also called for the release of the journalist opposing the policy of the ruling 'Georgian Dream'.