Kutaisi Court of Appeals upholds two-year sentence for Mzia Amaglobeli

The Kutaisi Court of Appeals has rejected the appeal of Mzia Amaglobeli, founder of the Batumelebi and Netgazeti media outlets, and upheld the two-year prison sentence previously imposed by the Batumi City Court. The decision was announced earlier today.

Amaglobeli’s lawyers had requested that the verdict of the Batumi City Court be overturned and that she be released. Conversely, prosecutors asked the Appeals Court to increase the sentence to between four and seven years.

Mzia Amaglobeli was present during the hearing.

On August 6, the Batumi City Court sentenced Amaglobeli to two years in prison. In its ruling, the court reclassified the charge originally brought under Article 353¹ (assault on a police officer) and instead found her guilty under Article 353, Part 1, which covers resistance, threats, or violence against public order defenders or other government representatives.

Law enforcement initially detained Amaglobeli on administrative charges on January 11 during a protest near the Batumi Police Headquarters. She was subsequently released on a written pledge, then re-arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer, which carried a potential sentence of 4 to 7 years imprisonment.