A laureate of the Sakharov Prize remains in prison for 2 years. A Georgia court upheld the first-instance sentence
Anti-government protest in Tbilisi Photo: Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto/Shutterst / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
A court in Georgia confirmed on Tuesday, on appeal, the two-year prison sentence for Mzia Amaghlobeli, a prominent journalist and co-laureate of the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought in October, reports AFP, taken over by Agerpres.
The 50-year-old founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti publications was convicted in August of slapping a senior police official during an anti-government protest.
On Tuesday, judges at the Court of Appeal in the western city of Kutaisi rejected his lawyers' appeal to overturn the sentence, arguing that it was disproportionate and politically motivated.
“I am not afraid of prison,” Amaghlobeli told the court. “What scares me is what awaits me outside: will it be a country fighting for freedom or a conquered one?” she added.
In October, the European Union awarded her the Sakharov Prize, alongside Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, describing her as a symbol of the “struggle for democracy” in Georgia.
This country has been gripped by a political crisis since parliamentary elections in October 2024, a vote won by the Georgian Dream party, in power since 2012, but whose results are disputed by the pro-European opposition.
The opposition organized protests that attracted tens of thousands of people, but failed to change the government's course, accused of authoritarian drift and seeking closer ties with Russia. The government denies any repression and accuses the opposition of trying to take power by force.
Imprisoned since January, Mzia Amaghlobeli went on a 38-day hunger strike in prison, which was cut short due to her deteriorating health.
