Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, detained on criminal charges for slapping a high-ranking police officer at a pro-EU rally in Batumi on January 12, has been refusing food in pre-trial detention since her arrest.

The Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), a human-rights watchdog, released a statement on January 27, the 16^th day of Amaglobeli’s hunger strike, declaring that the journalist’s life was under threat and calling on the authorities to take action.

GYLA statement

The watchdog called on the Ministry of Justice to make an immediate statement and provide the public with regular updates about Amaglobeli’s health, adding that “the prison administration is obliged to ensure comprehensive and effective control of Amaglobeli’s health condition”.

Georgian Minister for Health Mikheil Sarjveladze has so far not responded to journalists’ questions about Amaglobeli’s physical condition.

“The system is punishing Mzia Amaglobeli for her actions for political reasons, not because she broke the law,” the GYLA concluded, echoing wide-spread allegations against Georgia’s judiciary of exclusive loyalty to the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party.

Since the new year, GD has re-intensified repressive and hostile measures against pro-EU, anti-government protesters in the Black Sea country, aiming to crush the ongoing resistance movement. Demonstrators accuse GD of rigging the October 2024 parliamentary elections and steering the country away from the West back into Moscow’s sphere of influence.

Journalists’ solidarity

Also on January 27 over 300 Georgian journalists, editors and media mangers signed a joint statement demanding “the immediate release of the prisoner of conscience, Mzia Amaglobeli”.

“The fact that Amaglobeli has been arrested on criminal charges demonstrates that the oligarch’s regime has entered a new phase in its persecution of critical journalists. This involves imprisoning journalists based on fabricated charges, as has occurred in recent years in Russia, Belarus and neighbouring Azerbaijan,” the media representatives stated.

Journalists in Batumi and Tbilisi have held regular solidarity rallies since Amaglobeli’s arrest. 11 days into her hunger strike, Amaglobeli’s friends, colleagues and supporters urged her in an open letter to “stop this extreme form of protest”.

“You are invaluable to us and society as a professional and as a person. It is not worth risking your health and life. Together, we must continue this fight, which profoundly impacts each of us, our profession, and the citizens of our country,” said the letter, which was read out during a solidarity rally near parliament in Tbilisi on January 22.

The same day, Eter Turadze, editor of Batumelebi, said she had tried unsuccessfully to communicate with Georgian Dream parliament speaker, Shalva Papuashvili, to address Amaglobeli’s health conditions.

Despite her colleagues’ concerns over her wellbeing, Amaglobeli has refused to end her hunger strike. “If I stop, I will become complicit in today’s injustice,” she told her lawyers.

According to the GYLA head, Nona Kurdovanidze, who visited Amaglobeli on January 26, the journalist is aware of the many requests that she end her hunger strike but feels “the injustice she is facing is so great that she cannot imagine accepting it”.

Protests in solidarity with Amaglobeli continue. On the evening of January 27 demonstrators gathered in front of the prosecutor’s office in Tbilisi, citing concerns over her deteriorating condition and calling for her immediate release.

Amaglobeli’s case

The journalist was detained twice in the Black Sea city, Batumi, on the night of January 11-12, the first time for putting up a poster advertising a nationwide strike, and the second time for slapping the local chief of police, Irakli Dgebuadze, after he insulted her repeatedly.

The incident occurred amidst a clash between protesters and police at a pro-EU, anti-government rally, with reports of provocation by law enforcement.

Demonstrators have been taking to the streets in several of Georgia’s major cities for over 60 nights, demanding a new round of parliamentary elections and the release of those detained at protests.

Unrest began following the contested parliamentary elections of October 2024 and became a daily occurrence after GD’s announcement on November 28 that Georgia would be shelving its EU accession bid until 2028.

In protest against GD repression against peaceful pro-EU demonstrators, Amaglobeli has been refusing all food and drinking only water since her arrest on January 12.

On January 14 she was remanded in custody as a “preventive measure” and has since been in pre-trial detention on criminal charges of assaulting a police officer, an offence carrying a sentence of 4-7 years in prison.

In its January 27 statement, the GYLA called on the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia to “immediately terminated the case of illegal accusations against Mzia Amaglobeli and request the courts change the preventive measure, as Mzia Amaglobeli's actions do not contain signs of a criminal offense”.

The watchdog also appealed to the Special Investigation Service to “inform the public about the case of degrading treatment against Mzia Amaglobeli and why the authority of the Chief of Batumi Police, Irakli Dgebuadze, has not been suspended”.

The journalist has claimed that, following her arrest, she was subject to humiliating mistreatment by Dgebuadze, who allegedly spat in her face and denied her access to drinking water and the bathroom.

Activist Temur Katamadze, detained during a protest in Batumi on January 11, has also reported that he was physically and verbally assaulted by police chief Dgebuadze along with ten other officers.

International condemnation

Calls for Amaglobeli’s release have been echoed internationally. On a recent visit to Georgia, the Council of Europe human rights commissioner, Michael O’Flaherty, raised concerns about the “lack of accountability for allegations of unlawful arrests” and “use of excessive force” by law enforcement and hired “titushky” assailants during protests.

O’Flaherty highlighted Amaglobeli’s case specifically. “Without prejudice to any future decision on the merits of the charges against her, I believe that the continuation of her pre-trial detention is unjustified, and I am very concerned about her situation,” the commissioner said.

On January 21, the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists expressed alarm over Amaglobeli’s detention. In 2025, the platform recorded four red flags concerning journalist safety in member states, with three involving Georgia.

On January 23, the International Press Institute, along with 12 media rights organisations, issued a joint appeal to the Georgian authorities, calling for the release of Amaglobeli, a thorough investigation into the allegations of her mistreatment, and an end to the crackdown on free press.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa, during her speech at the Vatican's Jubilee of the World of Communications event on January 25, spoke of the ongoing protests in Georgia, specifically highlighting the violence and arrests of dozens of activists and journalists, including Amaglobeli.

“Mzia Amaglobeli and all political prisoners of the Ivanishvili regime must be immediately released! Free and fair elections must be held!” the Republican US Congressman Joe Wilson, who has emerged as one of the most vocal supporters of the Georgian resistance, wrote on X following Amaglobeli’s arrest.

Two others detained at pro-EU protests are also refusing food in pre-trial detention in solidarity with Amaglobeli. According to local platform Publika, on January 25, the legal representative for Nikoloz Javakhishvili, a 20-year-old arrested on November 30 for launching fireworks during a protest, stated that his client had been move to a solitary confinement cell as a punishment for his hunger strike, which began on January 22.