Georgian Parliament Speaker slams Western envoys over reactions to Amaglobeli verdict

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has criticised Western diplomats following the sentencing of independent journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, accusing some EU member states of engaging in politically motivated attacks against Georgia's judiciary.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Papuashvili predicted that “time will pass, and the ambassadors silenced by the European Court of Human Rights' future decision in the Amaglobeli case will remember how wrong they were – just as they’ve been wrong many times before in assessing Georgian court rulings.”

Papuashvili argued that certain EU countries have developed a pattern of “politically motivated slander and attacks” against Georgia’s judiciary. He claimed that embassies never apologized after being proven wrong by the Strasbourg court in previous high-profile cases involving former President Mikheil Saakashvili, opposition leader Nika Melia, journalist Nika Gvaramia, the Rustavi 2 case, or the June 2019 parliament protest.

“It is regrettable that politically motivated defamation and attacks against the Georgian judiciary have become the trademark of some EU members. It is regrettable that they have devalued their own word like this,” Papuashvili wrote.

The comments came in response to a joint statement issued by 24 diplomatic missions expressing concern over the two-year prison sentence handed down to Mzia Amaglobeli by Batumi City Court earlier this week.

Amaglobeli, founder and director of the independent media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, was arrested during a protest in Batumi in January 2024. The demonstration opposed the government's backtracking on EU integration.

Initially detained on administrative grounds, she was later charged under Article 353¹ of the Georgian Criminal Code for allegedly assaulting a police officer, a charge carrying a 4–7 year sentence. However, during the verdict hearing, Judge Nino Sakhelashvili reclassified the offence to a lesser charge of resisting or threatening law enforcement (Article 353) and sentenced her to two years in prison.

Amaglobeli’s legal team and human rights defenders have denounced the charges as politically motivated and unsubstantiated. Her lawyer, Maia Mtsariashvili, said the ruling was “a punishment, not a judgment,” and vowed to appeal the verdict.