The Norwegian Fritt Ord Foundation and the ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius have named six laureates of the Free Media Award, including Mzia Amaghlobeli, a journalist and founder of “Netgazeti” and “Batumelebi” from Georgia.
According to a press release issued by the organizations, this year’s award recipients are: the media platform Gwara Media from Ukraine, journalist and media founder Mzia Amaghlobeli from Georgia, the investigative online media outlet Direkt36 from Hungary, photographer and photojournalist Alexandra Astakhova from Russia, the media channel Belarus Investigative Center from Belarus, and journalist Nargiz Absalamova from Azerbaijan.
“The awards are presented to six independent media outlets and journalists in Eastern and Central Europe in recognition of their heroic investigative journalism conducted under extremely challenging conditions. Authoritarian regimes are expanding their influence in the region, and two of this year’s laureates were recently sentenced to several years of imprisonment for their journalistic efforts,” the statement reads.
The Fritt Ord Foundation and ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius note that Mzia Amaghlobeli has become a symbol of independent journalism in Georgia and is being honored for her 25 years of dedication to journalistic integrity and ethics.
“In August, she was sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a case that human rights groups consider politically motivated. In reality, she is being punished for exposing the regime’s corrupt activities over many years. She is the first female journalist in Georgia to be imprisoned on politically motivated charges since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Earlier this year, in January and February, she went on a 38-day hunger strike against the authorities, and her health condition is currently critical,” the statement notes.
