Georgia promotes sanctioned police official

Grigol Beselia, former head of the Adjara region’s police department, has been appointed deputy director of Georgia’s Central Criminal Police Department. Beselia was involved in the case of Mzia Amaghlobeli, the imprisoned director of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, and has been sanctioned by the Baltic states.

Beselia’s appointment was confirmed to OC Media by the Interior Ministry. He served as a head of the Adjara police from 2022 until 4 April 2025, and previously was the deputy head of Tbilisi’s Main Police Department.

Beselia’s name began circulating more frequently in Georgian media after 11 January, when Mzia Amaghlobeli — director of Batumelebi and Netgazeti — was detained in Batumi. She was initially held administratively for putting up a sticker, and minutes later, criminally charged for slapping Batumi Police Chief Irakli Dgebuadze.

The Prosecutor General’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.

Beselia was involved in Amaghlobeli’s administrative detention and testified in her criminal case at Batumi City Court on 28 April. Amaghlobeli’s supporters escorted him out of the courtroom, shouting ‘liar’ and ‘false witness’.

In early March, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia sanctioned Beselia along with other police officers, judges, and prosecutors. Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry said the list included ‘those who testified falsely against journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli and contributed to her illegal detention’. Estonia noted that those sanctioned were responsible ‘for the prosecution of protesters by the judicial system and judiciary and law enforcement agencies’.

Beselia has worked in various positions within the police force since 2005, including during the rule of the previous government under the United National Movement (UNM) party.

GYLA takes detained journalist Amaghlobeli’s case to the ECHR

Mzia Amaghlobeli faces up to seven years in prison on charges of assaulting a police officer.

OC MediaNate Ostiller