Jailed Georgian journalist: 'I will not bow to this regime'
"I will not bow to this regime," writes Mzia Amaglobeli from pre-trial detention in the city of Batumi in Georgia.
The 49-year-old journalist has been in custody since January 11 and on a hunger strike since January 12 over her detention.
Amaglobeli was attending a protest where demonstrations were calling for fresh elections and objecting to the government's suspension of Georgia's EU accession plans.
At first, police detained Amaglobeli for putting a sticker on a wall. She was released, only to be arrested later that day for slapping a police officer.
Georgia's prime minister and other government officials have said that Amaglobeli should end her hunger strike and apologize for her actions.
But media watchdogs believe her arrest is connected to her journalism.
Journalist previously threatened
Amaglobeli is the founder of the websites Batumelebi and Netgazeti, which focus on political news, investigations and corruption. Both Amaglobeli and her media group have come under pressure and threats previously for their work.
Amaglobeli's health has declined after being on a hunger strike for a month, and she is being held in a private clinic under a doctor's supervision, but she remains in custody.
Nestan Tsetskhladze, a friend and colleague, told VOA that the journalist plans to remain on her hunger strike until March 4, when she is due to appear in court.
"She is on hunger strike in protest, to show that she won't tolerate this regime," Tsetskhladze told VOA. "She is not going to live by this regime's agenda. That is her goal."
Amaglobeli has also written of her position in a letter last month to colleagues that was shared with media.
"Today it is me, tomorrow it could be anyone who dares to dream of a just, democratic European Georgia, untouched by Russian influence, unshaken by oppression," wrote Amaglobeli. "I will not bow to this regime. I will not play by its rules."
Hundreds arrested
The journalist is one of hundreds of people to be arrested since parliamentary elections in October resulted in nationwide protests.
The country's ruling Georgian Dream party officially won the election with around 54% of the vote, but the results were challenged by then-President Salome Zourabichvili and opposition parties, who claimed the elections were rigged.
Observers, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said there were reports of voter irregularities.
At the time, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, a member of Georgian Dream, called on Zourabichvili to turn over any evidence of rigging to authorities. He said he believed she did not have such evidence.
A fresh wave of protests started on November 28, when Kobakhidze announced a suspension of all negotiations with the European Union on Georgia's EU accession until 2028.
Police have responded to the protests with force, using water cannons against demonstrators, hundreds of whom have been detained, beaten and treated inhumanely, according to Transparency International Georgia.
In Amaglobeli's case, the journalist's legal team says she was mistreated after her second arrest. They say that the police officer whom she slapped was trying to physically abuse her, that he spat in her face and did not let her use the restroom for several hours. Additionally, lawyers were not allowed to see the journalist for three hours.
Amaglobeli faces charges of assaulting a police officer. If found guilty, she could face up to seven years in prison.
Transparency International Georgia has said a video of the interaction shows the slap "lacked sufficient force to cause harm," and doesn't meet the standard for a formal charge.
Gulnoza Said of the Committee to Protect Journalists told VOA that it is a "very serious press freedom violation that she is in detention."
Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia division, said that, so far, no investigations have taken place into cases of riot police using excessive force or alleged mistreatment of protesters in custody.
"Suddenly, this is where the authorities are putting all of their time and resources and vigor — to punish one person who is a journalist and who has a record of being outspoken," Denber told VOA.
Tsetskhladze, the journalist's friend, believes the government's treatment of Amaglobeli is meant to be a warning for other independent media outlets and journalists in Georgia.
"They are punishing not only Mzia, who slapped a police officer, but also the media outlets she funded, the media in general, journalists and all critical, free people in this country," he told VOA.
At least 50 journalists have been attacked, obstructed and beaten during the protests. Some were hospitalized and their equipment was damaged, according to the Mapping Media Freedom platform.
This story originated in VOA's Georgian Service.
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