Salome Zourabichvili calls for unity to support detained Georgian media manager Mzia Amaglobeli

In a recent post on X, Georgia’s 5th President President Salome Zourabichvili rallied support for journalist and media manager Mzia Amaglobeli, who has been detained by the Georgian authorities.

Zourabichvili urged friends of Georgia and citizens to unite in efforts to “save journalist Mzia Amaglobeli from the Georgian Dream jail and to free Georgia from this Russian one-party regime,” marking the 20th day of Amaglobeli’s hunger strike.

Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, was arrested in Batumi on January 12. She faces charges under Article 353 of the Criminal Code, which concerns assaulting a police officer. While Amaglobeli has been on a hunger strike for 19 days to protest her imprisonment, her supporters assert that her arrest is politically motivated and indicative of an increasing assault on press freedom in Georgia.

The situation has sparked widespread protests in Tbilisi and other major cities of Georgia and calls for action, as advocates stress the importance of defending journalists and press freedoms in the face of governmental pressure.