On January 14, Facebook users posted a video where Gela Mtivlishvili, editor of the regional media outlet Mtis Ambebi, speaks about the arrest of Mzia Amaghlobeli, the director of the publications Batumelebi and Netgazeti. In the video, Mtivlishvili says: “It is a lie of the Georgian Dream… The propaganda media of the Georgian Dream is lying again that Mzia slapped the head of Batumi Police in the face.” The video is perceived as if Mtivlishvili does not acknowledge that Amaghlobeli hit the police officer. The logos of the TV channel Formula and the program “Politics Formula,” along with its host, Sopho Zurabiani, are also visible in the video.
A fragment of Gela Mtivlishvili’s interview about Mzia AmaghlobeIi’s arrest is being spread manipulatively, without context. The video only shows the part where Mtivlishvili is saying that it is a lie that Amaghlobeli slapped the police officer. In reality, immediately after this phrase, the journalist explains that such an incident did indeed occur, but it was preceded by an insult towards Mzia Amaghlobeli. He states that the propaganda of the Georgian Dream lies when it shows only the slapping scene.
Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder and director of the publications Batumelebi and Netgazeti, was arrested on January 11 during a protest in Batumi. Initially, she was detained for putting up posters and released a few hours later on a written guarantee. However, shortly after her release, she was arrested under criminal charges, specifically for allegedly attacking Irakli Dgebuadze, the head of the Adjara Autonomous Republic Police Department. The article under which the journalist is being prosecuted (Article 3531, Part 1 of the Criminal Code) prescribes a prison sentence of 4 to 7 years. On January 14, Batumi City Court judge Nino Sakhelashvili imposed a two-month pretrial detention on the journalist as a preventive measure.
After Amaghlobeli’s arrest, pro-government TV channel Imedi and other media outlets (1, 2) released video footage showing the journalist hitting Irakli Dgebuadze in the face. When speaking on Formula, Gela Mtivlishvili referred to this very footage.
The video circulating on Facebook was cut from the live broadcast of Formula on January 13. In the talk show “Sopho Zurabiani’s Politics Formula,” Gela Mtivlishvili joined from Batumi to discuss Mzia AmaghlobeIi’s arrest. According to him, Amaghlobeli is “a prisoner of Ivanishvili’s regime” and the first victim among Georgian journalists. The editor of Mtis Ambebi also said that the charges against Mzia Amaghlobeli were incorrectly applied and that the incident in Batumi could not be considered an attack on a police officer.
During the interview, the respondent also discusses the footage that the pro-government media and authorities use to prove Amaghlobeli’s guilt. Mtivlishvili does not deny that the publisher slapped Irakli Dgebuadze, but he refers to the recording that does not show how the police chief verbally insulted Amaghlobeli. During the broadcast, Mtivlishvili said (2:25):
“– The propaganda media of the Georgian Dream is lying again that Mzia slapped the head of Batumi Police in the face. So, what are they lying about? The lie is that this provocation was preceded by swearing at Mzia.”
(Sopho Zurabiani) – about Mzia Amaghlobeli
“– Yes, Mzia was sworn at, apparently by the police chief. When Mzia was first released from the police department building after being administratively detained, two of her friends were standing next to her. Both were snatched and detained completely unlawfully, after which Dgebuadze insulted her, which resulted in a slap in the face. Thus, everything was done to provoke the person, the publisher, and push her to such an action. Therefore, this was a provocation. It cannot be considered an attack on a police officer, and Mzia should not be facing 4 to 7 years of imprisonment.”
Therefore, the statement by the editor of Mtis Ambebi that the Georgian Dream’s propaganda is lying does not mean he denies the slapping incident. Mtivlishvili says that the media lie when they fail to present the full context and do not mention how Irakli Dgebuadze insulted Mzia Amaghlobeli before that.
This is not the first time Gela Mtivlishvili’s videos have been spread manipulatively. During the Constitutional Court’s review of the so-called “agents’ law,” Mtivlishvili raised a question about the transparency of online media funding. At that time, the pro-government media POSTV portrayed the video in a way that made it seem as though the editor admitted that media funding was not transparent. “Myth Detector” reviewed the full video and established that POSTV had spread it manipulatively.
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