Georgian media manager Amaglobeli sentenced to two years in prison after charge reclassification

Georgian journalist and media founder Mzia Amaglobeli was sentenced to two years in prison by Batumi City Court on Wednesday, following a controversial reclassification of charges by Judge Nino Sakhelashvili.

Amaglobeli, the founder and director of independent outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, had originally faced charges under Article 353¹ of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which pertains to assaulting a police officer and carries a sentence of four to seven years’ imprisonment.

In a surprise move during the verdict hearing, Judge Sakhelashvili reclassified the charge to Article 353 – a lesser offence relating to resisting, threatening, or using violence against a law enforcement officer – and handed down a two-year custodial sentence. The revised charge carries a penalty ranging from a fine to up to five years in prison.

Amaglobeli was detained during a protest in Batumi in January 2024 against halted EU integration. Initially arrested on administrative grounds, she was subsequently charged under criminal law and held in pre-trial detention.

Amaglobeli’s lawyer, Maia Mtsariashvili, criticised the court’s decision, calling the reclassified charge “just as absurd” as the original.

“The system failed to prove either an attack on police or the new charge it substituted,” Mtsariashvili said. “This was not a ruling; it was a punishment – a statement that this person is being penalised for political non-conformity.”

She argued that the court could have opted for a non-custodial sentence such as a fine or suspended sentence, even under the lesser charge, but instead sought to preserve institutional credibility.

“This was a strategic move to save face. Everyone in the country knows that what Mzia was accused of never amounted to attacking a police officer,” she added. “But instead of acquittal, they downgraded the charge to justify imprisonment.”

The court’s decision was met with loud protests outside the courtroom. Supporters of Amaglobeli chanted "slaves!" in reaction to the ruling.

Amaglobeli's legal team confirmed plans to appeal the verdict at the Court of Appeals.