Czech Foreign Minister condemns sentencing of Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has strongly condemned the politically motivated two-year prison sentence handed down to Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli.

“I strongly condemn the politically motivated two-year sentence of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, whose health has deteriorated in custody. Her case reflects the growing pressure on media and civil society in Georgia. The Czech Republic expresses solidarity and calls for the release of all unjustly prosecuted individuals,” Lipavský wrote on X on August 8.

On August 6, Judge Nino Sakhelashvili of Batumi City Court sentenced Amaglobeli — founder and director of the independent online outlets Netgazeti and Batumelebi, both critical of the government — to two years in prison.

The judge reclassified the original, more serious charge (Article 353¹ of the Criminal Code) to a lesser offense (Article 353, Part 1). Although she had the option to replace the prison sentence with a fine, she did not do so.

Amaglobeli was first detained on January 11 in Batumi during a protest, initially under administrative charges. She was released, but several hours later, on January 12, she was re-arrested under criminal charges for allegedly slapping police officer Irakli Dgebuadze — an accusation that legal experts say is inconsistent with the circumstances and points to political motivation. The original charge of “assaulting a law enforcement officer” carried a prison term of four to seven years.