Batumi Police Chief says Amaghlobeli could avoid imprisonment with ‘simple actions’

Batumi Police Chief Irakli Dgebuadze has testified against media director Mzia Amaghlobeli, who was detained after slapping Dgebuadze during a protest. During the trial, Dgebuadze said that the pain he felt from Amaghlobeli’s slap was ‘mocked by society’, but added that she could avoid prison through ‘simple actions’.

Amaghlobeli was first detained on 11 January for hanging a poster at a pro-European rally in Batumi, before being later released that same day.

Within several minutes of her release, however, she was detained again on charges of slapping Dgebuadze. The Prosecutor’s Office considered the slap an ‘attack on a police officer’ — a criminal offence which carries a prison sentence of four to seven years.

The case against Amaghlobeli is widely seen as being politically motivated and as punishment for her journalistic work.

Numerous independent media and civil society representatives have described Amaghlobeli’s arrest as a premeditated provocation, pointing out that just moments earlier, some of her acquaintances had also been unexpectedly detained at the same location, and that Dgebuadze had verbally insulted her.

‘What harm did I cause you?’

During Thursday’s hearing, Dgebuadze complained that the public had mocked the ‘pain’ he claimed to have suffered from Amaghlobeli’s slap — reacting to critics who dismissed his account as exaggerated and aimed at justifying the harsh criminal charge and potential years-long prison sentence sought by the prosecution.

‘I went into my office [that evening] and looked in the mirror — I had redness’, Dgebuadze said, once again citing the temporary discoloration of his right cheek and ear as evidence of the alleged intensity behind Amaghlobeli’s slap.

In her speech, Amaghlobeli reiterated that she does not shy away from responsibility, but firmly maintained that a slap does not constitute an assault.

Following Amaghlobeli’s arrest, Batumelebi published a report listing several past cases in which Georgia’s Supreme Court did not classify far more violent incidents as assaults on police officers. These included striking an officer in the head with a bottle and beating a female officer in the face, thigh, knee, and arm. In both cases, the court requalified the charges under lighter articles and issued lenient sentences.

‘I genuinely want to know — what harm did I, Mzia Amaghlobeli, cause you, Irakli Dgebuadze, that qualifies under Article 353.1?’, Amaghlobeli asked on Thursday.

‘You do know what that entails, don’t you? A sentence of four to seven years’, she added.

In response, Dgebuadze stated that Amaghlobeli's imprisonment was not his personal aim, and that he did not wish for her to spend a ‘single day’ in jail. He also acknowledged that it might be ‘morally difficult for the public to understand’ the severity of Amaghlobeli’s potential sentence.

Dgebuadze also told Amaghlobeli, however, that she herself must ensure she avoids imprisonment, adding that ‘there are some simple actions you can take to be held accountable for your actions in a way that doesn’t involve four to seven years in prison’.

It is unclear whether Dgebuadze’s remark about ‘simple actions’ referred to a potential need for Amaghlobeli to apologise.

Leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party have previously stated multiple times that Amaghlobeli had insulted the entire Georgian police force with her actions.

In February, when Amaghlobeli’s colleague, Batumelebi editor Eter Turadze, requested a meeting with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze to discuss the case, Kobakhidze said that Amaghlobeli's side must first express ‘regret’ for what happened.

‘Fight for a European future’

Amaghlobeli had previously stated that she ‘would not apologise to a perpetrator’, indicating Dgebuadze’s alleged humiliating actions during her detention. She stated that, following her arrest, Dgebuadze spat in her face and prohibited her from drinking water or using the restroom for several hours.

During the court proceedings, Dgebuadze did not confirm the actions described by Amaghlobeli. However, shortly after her arrest, Batumelebi released a video, which, according to the outlet, captures the moment of Amaghlobeli’s second detention. The footage shows Dgebuadze verbally assaulting and threatening Amaghlobeli during her arrest.

🟥The video shows #Batumi Police Chief Irakli Dgebuadze cursing & threatening @MAmaghlobeli, the founder and CEO of @Netgazeti & @Batumelebi_ge, after her arrest.
⭕️Dgebuadze personally participated in the arrest.
⭕️Amaglobeli is accused of attacking Dgebuadze - a Police Officer pic.twitter.com/r2g0lwlodY

— ბათუმელები • Batumelebi.ge (@Batumelebi_ge) January 13, 2025

‘I fucking swear, I’ll arrest her under the criminal [code] [...] I’ll fuck her mother’s pussy’, Dgebuadze could be heard saying.

After the footage was shown during Thursday’s trial, Dgebuadze stated that the voice in the recording ‘sounds like’ his. He then added that he might have used obscene language, but only for the purpose of ‘describing the fact’.

During the hearing, Amaghlobeli emphasised that the sentence now being sought against her is perceived as retaliation from Dgebuadze, pointing to the video remarks. Dgebuadze rejected Amaghlobeli’s claim.

At the end of her statement, Amaghlobeli once again addressed Dgebuadze, saying ‘Shame on your patrons’, before congratulating Georgians on Europe Day on 9 May.

‘I call on the Georgian public to fight for a European future’, she added, which was met with applause from the courtroom.

During the court session, Judge Nino Sakhelashvili expelled several people, including Netgazeti editor Nestan Tsekhladze, from the courtroom. This followed her threat to close the session after the round of applause.

Both within Georgia and internationally, independent journalists and human rights defenders, as well as diplomats and politicians, have called for Amaghlobeli’s immediate release, pointing out the disproportionate nature of the charges against her.

On Wednesday, Amaghlobeli’s lawyers filed a lawsuit against Georgian Dream representatives, including Kobakhidze and the party’s parliamentary leader Mamuka Mdinaradze, for defamation, following their statements accusing Amaghlobeli of carrying out a ‘task’ to discredit the Georgian police prior to her arrest.

Opinion | Mzia Amaghlobeli is a political prisoner

The authorities in Georgia go to extreme lengths to pursue opponents of the government, while giving tacit approval to those who attack such opponents.

OC MediaMariam Nikuradze