Clooney Foundation for Justice to monitor Mzia Amaghlobeli’s trial

The Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) announced that it will monitor the trial of Batumelebi and Netgazeti founder Mzia Amaghlobeli.

The statement released by the CFJ on Tuesday noted that the trial will be monitored as part of the foundation’s TrialWatch initiative, which ‘provides free legal aid to journalists who are unfairly imprisoned to secure their release and uphold freedom of speech’.

The statement outlined Amaghlobeli’s case, the charges brought against the media manager, and the violations committed against her, as well as the 38 days-long hunger strike that Amaghlobeli went on after being imprisoned.

‘She faces up to seven years in prison and has had three requests for bail denied solely on the basis of the prosecution’s assertions, without due consideration of the reasons for bail put forward by the defense’, the statement read.

According to the CFJ, ‘TrialWatch will produce a Fairness Report grading the case against international and regional fair trial standards after the end of Amaghlobeli’s trial’.

The CFJ was founded by International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and Hollywood actor George Clooney in 2016.

According to its website, the foundation has expanded its operations to over 40 countries and is engaged in investigating war crimes in Ukraine, monitoring sham trials targeting women and journalists, and ‘combating the global rise of authoritarianism that seeks to silence dissent’.

As for TrialWatch, it was launched in 2019 as the ‘first global initiative that monitors criminal trials against the most vulnerable worldwide’. The American Bar Association and Columbia University Law School are among the key partners of the project.

‘[TrialWatch] work has led to dozens of journalists being set free and thousands of women receiving free legal support to defend their rights’, the foundation stated.

Before Amaghlobeli’s case, TrialWatch and its partners worked on cases such as that of the late Russian politician Alexei Navalny, Belarusian journalist Maria Zolotova, and Thai journalist Chutima Sidasathian.

Mzia Amaghlobeli’s case

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

Within several minutes of her release, she was detained again on charges of slapping Batumi Police Chief Irakli 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.

After her detention, Amaghlobeli began a hunger strike in protest, but ended it on 18 February after 38 days.

On Tuesday, Amaghlobeli was fined ₾2000 ($718) for hanging a poster.

Court orders Batumelebi and Netgazeti founder Amaghlobeli to remain in custody

On 18 February, Amaghlobeli stopped her hunger strike in protest of her detention after 38 days.

OC MediaOC Media

Representatives of independent media organisations and civil society, both in Georgia and abroad, have repeatedly pointed to the political motivation behind Amaghlobeli’s case, emphasising that she is being punished for her work.

Following one of the latest court hearings, The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), which represents Amaghlobeli’s legal interests, stated that she is ‘demonstratively deprived by the Georgian judiciary of the right to defend herself and prove her innocence’.

‘The court fully satisfied the prosecution’s motion and removed 17 individuals, 18 pieces of video evidence, 13 inspection reports, and 14 pieces of written evidence from the list of witnesses to be examined by the defence’, the statement said.

After Amaghlobeli’s arrest, Batumelebi studied several decisions of the Supreme Court of Georgia, which, according to them, ‘clearly show that slapping a police officer is not an assault on a police officer’.

Journalists and other supporters of Amaghlobeli have held multiple protests in Tbilisi and other cities, demanding her release.

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