The International Press Institute (IPI) today strongly condemns the recent appeal court verdict upholding the two-year prison sentence handed down to IPI member and World Press Freedom Hero Mzia Amaglobeli. As the defense plans to appeal this verdict to the Supreme Court, IPI continues to demand its overturn and Mzia’s immediate release.
On November 18, the Kutaisi Court of Appeals upheld the Batumi City Court’s original ruling sentencing Mzia to two years in prison. The defense team sought a full acquittal, while prosecutors requested that Mzia’s sentence be increased to between four and seven years.
The appeal verdict upholds the original conviction and sentencing in August 2025, which followed more than 200 days in unjust pretrial detention and a highly politicized trial, during which time the journalist’s health and eyesight seriously deteriorated.
Since her arrest and politically-motivated prosecution, Mzia, co-founder and director of two of Georgia’s most prominent independent media outlets, Batumelebi and Netgazeti, has become a symbol for the fight for press freedom and democracy in Georgia, where the ruling Georgian Dream party is deepening its authoritarian crackdown on dissent.
Last month, Mzia was awarded IPI and IMI’s 2025 World Press Freedom Hero award at a ceremony in Vienna.
On 22 October 2025, Mzia, together with imprisoned Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut, also became a laureate of the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, as a symbol of Georgia’s democratic resilience.
In her closing statement during the hearing, Mzia said: “If we lose faith, the regime will inevitably imprison us repeatedly and will do everything it can to ensure that we are constantly humiliated, insulted, and even expelled from our own country. […] I am not afraid of imprisonment; I am afraid of what I will find outside when I get out of prison. Will I find a country that fights for freedom, democracy, and a European future, or will I find a country conquered by propaganda and economic challenges… a country conquered by Russia without a tank?”
As the legal case continues, IPI will continue to closely monitor the trial, advocate for Mzia’s immediate release and defend press freedom in Georgia. If domestic remedies are exhausted, IPI will support taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
This statement by IPI is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States, Candidate Countries, and Ukraine. The project is co-funded by the European Commission.
