Day: March 5, 2026

Georgia’s Supreme Court refused to consider on the merits the complaint of imprisoned journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, director and co-founder of online media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, effectively exhausting all domestic legal remedies.

According to Netgazeti, the judicial panel – consisting of Levan Tevzadze, Merab Gabinashvili, and Mamuka Vasadze – made the decision without holding an oral hearing.

The November 2025 ruling by the Kutaisi Court of Appeal, which upheld the initial two-year sentence imposed by the Batumi City Court in August, therefore stands as the final ruling in the case.

Amaghlobeli’s lawyers had asked the Supreme Court to overturn the appellate ruling, while Prosecutor Tornike Gegashvili sought a harsher legal qualification.

Mzia Amaghlobeli, arrested since January 2025, is serving the two-year sentence for slapping then Batumi Police Chief Irakli Dgebuadze during a tense night of protests and arrests. Her imprisonment is widely regarded as politically motivated. Multiple domestic and international groups have called for her release.

During her time in prison, Amaghlobeli has received many international recognitions, including the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought – the European Union’s top human rights award.

Also Read:

• 16/01/2026 – Clooney Foundation: Mzia Amaghlobeli’s Right to Fair Trial Violated
• 12/01/2026  – One Year After Arrest, Diplomatic Missions Reiterate Call to Free Mzia Amaghlobeli
• 19/06/2025 – European Parliament Demands Journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli’s ‘Immediate’ and ‘Unconditional’ Release
• 18/06/2025 – Jailed Journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli Fined Twice on Single Incident
  

Azerbaijan does not intend to abandon state oversight of the economy but rather transform it into a more efficient and modern system, Deputy Prime Minister Samir Sharifov said at a forum in Baku.