European Parliament demands to liberate Mziya Amaglobeli

The Member of the European Parliament (MEPs) have adopted a resolution demanding the immediate release of Mziya Amaglobeli, the founder of the "Batumelebi" and "Netgazeti" online outlets, treating her arrest as politically motivated.

On June 19, the MEPs adopted, by a majority vote, a resolution dedicated to restrictions on the freedom of speech and the persecution of journalists in Georgia and, in particular, the case of Mziya Amaglobeli, whose name is included in the resolution title.

Its authors have called on the country's leadership to immediately and unconditionally release Amaglobeli, whose case they called "an example of repression against independent media and the civil society." Overall, 324 MEPs voted for the resolution, 25 voted against, and 87 MEPs abstained from voting, says the official website of the European Parliament.

The resolution lists the violations of Mziya Amaglobeli's rights committed during the investigation. In particular, it points out the absence of sufficient grounds for placing her in custody, and the absence of the due qualification of the judge, who considered the case, in the criminal law, as well as the cruel treatment of Mziya, who went on a 38-day hunger strike after her arrest. In general, the resolution authors characterize Amaglobeli's arrest as politically motivated.

The text of the resolution also condemns the Georgian authorities’ systemic attack on the political opposition, independent media and the civil society. MEPs have called on Tbilisi to ensure journalists’ safety, abolish repressive laws and release all political prisoners, both those who took part in pro-European protests and other oppositional figures, including the country's third president, Mikheil Saakashvili.

Overall, 436 out of 720 MEPs took part in the vote. In its turn, the “Georgian Dream” Party has stated that it wouldn’t take European Parliament’s resolutions into account and considers them a "waste of time," the “News-Georgia” reports.

Before the June 18 session, where the resolution text was discussed, the MEPs, Rasa Yuknyavichene, Malgozha Goshewska, Petras Austrevichus and others unfurled banners in support of the following prisoners: Mate Devidze, Mziya Amaglobeli, Zurab Djaparidze, Nika Meliya, Mikheil Saakashvili and Nika Gvaramiya, the “1tv.ge” outlet reports.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 19, 2025 at 12:54 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.