Judge to deliver verdict in media manager Amaghlobeli’s case on 6 August

A Georgian court will deliver its verdict in the high-profile criminal case against journalist and media founder Mzia Amaghlobeli on Tuesday, 6 August, at 14:00. The announcement was made by Judge Nino Sakhelashvili during today’s hearing at Batumi City Court.

Amaghlobeli, who founded the independent outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, is facing charges of assaulting a police officer - an accusation she denies and describes as politically motivated.

The case centres around an incident in which Amaghlobeli allegedly slapped Batumi police chief Irakli Dgebuadze. During her final statement to the court, the journalist rejected the charges and criticised what she described as a coordinated political campaign to discredit her.

“They call me an agent, claim I’m backed by the so-called ‘Global War Party’ and say I was trained to slap people during special sessions,” she said in court. “But it doesn’t take a deep state to discredit the police - they’re doing it themselves.”

Amaghlobeli accused members of the ruling political establishment, including Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, of actively undermining her public image and using the justice system to punish critical voices.

“This verdict will not just be my punishment - it will be yours too, prosecutors,” she told the courtroom. “Everyone who took part in this case will bear professional responsibility for what they’ve done.”

She also criticised the court for denying her requests to question public officials she claimed were involved in efforts to delegitimize her.

“I wasn’t allowed to cross-examine those in power who have been publicly branding me a criminal,” she said. “These are not random individuals - they are people in office, representing the ruling party.”

In her closing remarks, Amaghlobeli referenced several cases of alleged police brutality and inaction, saying that public trust in law enforcement had been eroded not by activists but by the state’s own failure to investigate attacks on opposition figures and civil society activists.

“You didn’t investigate the attacks on [journalists] Guram Rogava, Maka Chikhladze, Aleksandre Keshelashvili, or Giorgi Shetsiruli,” she said. “That’s when the dignity of the police was truly damaged - not by me, but by the silence of the system.”