**Journalist Remanded in Custody**
On March 4, the Batumi City Court remanded journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli in custody. The decision was met with a commotion in the courtroom.
Amaghlobeli, founder and director of online publications Batumelebi and Netgazeti, held a piece of paper that read “Unjust Court”. Her lawyer, Jumber Katamadze, argued against lifting the remand, citing a detective’s report claiming Amaghlobeli had planned to attack police with others.
The prosecution requested access to Amaghlobeli’s phone to extract data. However, her lawyers argued that this would give the prosecutor sensitive information. The judge rejected the defense’s request and remanded Amaghlobeli in custody.
Amaghlobeli herself told the court that she did not think she was guilty and saw herself as illegally imprisoned. She also expressed confidence that she, along with other prisoners of conscience, would prove her innocence.
**International Support**
Outside the court building, journalists, human rights defenders, politicians, diplomats, and supporters gathered to show their support for Amaghlobeli.
The French ambassador, Shéraz Gasri, and the head of political affairs at the Swedish embassy, Erik Malmberg, were among those who attended the hearing. The German Foreign Ministry had called for Amaghlobeli’s release a day before the scheduled hearing, while Lithuania and Estonia extended their visa sanctions against Georgian officials involved in the case.
**Background**
Amaghlobeli was arrested on January 12 after slapping Batumi police chief Irakli Dgebuadze. She spent 38 days on hunger strike to protest her arrest, but ended it on February 18 after appeals from the journalistic community and civil society.
Her case is widely seen as political persecution and a crackdown on independent press by the ruling Georgian Dream government.
