On July 20, in a recorded interview with Al Jazeera, published by Imedi, the owner of Imedi TV, Irakli Rukhadze, stated that if Mzia Amaghlobeli believes she has been detained because of her profession as a journalist, then she should appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. However, Rukhadze claimed, Amaghlobeli is not taking her case there.
Rukhadze: “I advise Ms. Amaghlobeli to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights if she believes that she is in prison because of her profession as a journalist. If that is the reason for her detention, the court will examine her case under an expedited procedure. A lot of money is being spent on her lawyers, so she should go ahead and file a complaint in Strasbourg. But she isn’t doing that.”
On June 19, the Georgian Dream member Nino Tsilosani stated that the case of Mzia Amaghlobeli, co-founder of online media “Batumelebi,” is not being submitted to the Strasbourg Court. According to Tsilosani, the reason is that Amaghlobeli’s case would meet the same fate as those of ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, opposition politicians Nika Melia and Nika Gvaramia. Her comment was reported by the media outlets “Paraleli” and “Palitra.” On June 20, a discrediting anonymous Facebook account targeting the political opposition also published a post with similar content.
The claim that Mzia Amaghlobeli’s case has not been sent to Strasbourg is false. On April 28, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) submitted a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of Amaghlobeli, and on June 26, the Court initiated proceedings on the case. Case-related details have also been published on the Court’s official website.
The information that Amaghlobeli’s case is not being submitted to Strasbourg is untrue. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), which represents Amaghlobeli’s interests, filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights on her behalf on April 28. According to the organization, the complaint argues that Amaghlobeli’s fundamental rights under the European Convention on Human Rights were violated: the right to liberty and security (Article 5), the right to a fair trial (Article 6), the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8), freedom of expression (Article 10), Article 13 in conjunction with Articles 8 and 10 (right to an effective remedy), and the limitation on use of restrictions on rights (Article 18).
On June 26, GYLA announced that the European Court of Human Rights had begun examining Mzia Amaghlobeli’s case. According to the organization, in its correspondence, the Court indicated that the case may be designated as an “Impact Case,” meaning it could have significant influence.
Furthermore, according to the European Court of Human Rights itself, Amaghlobeli’s case has already been communicated, which means that on June 23, the Court provided the details of the case and sent questions to the respondent state, Georgia. The Ministry of Justice must now prepare responses. The Court’s website also lists the date the case was received – April 28.
Mzia Amaghlobeli was arrested on January 11 during a protest rally in Batumi. Initially, she was detained for putting up a poster and was released a few hours later on a written pledge. However, shortly after her release, she was re-arrested on criminal charges. Specifically, she is accused of assaulting the head of the Adjara Autonomous Republic Police Department, Irakli Dgebuadze – slapping him. The article under which the journalist is being prosecuted (Article 353¹, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia) carries a penalty of 4 to 7 years in prison.
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