Free Mzia and Georgia

Yesterday, a group of journalists gathered in front of the Georgian Parliament earlier than usual – protests against the government have become a daily ritual after work – but before they even began, they were beaten, dragged by their hair, thrown to the ground, and dispersed by the police. They were there for Mzia Amaghlobeli, the founder and director of two independent news outlets, Batumelebi and Netgazeti, who has been in prison for 23 days and on hunger strike for the same period, in critical health. Mzia – her name appears on posters, on walls, and she has become a symbol of the injustice and violence suffered by the Georgian people – was arrested by Batumi police on the Black Sea coast for pasting stickers that read "strike." She was released a few hours later, but when leaving the police station, she encountered the commander, Irakli Dgebuadze, who was either expelling or attempting to arrest Mzia’s colleagues who had arrived to demand her release. Upon seeing her, the city’s top policeman, often mentioned in Batumelebi’s investigations, began to drag her and insult her. Mzia reacted and was rearrested – she is still in prison. The only time we saw Mzia again was three days later, behind bars in the courtroom, during the first hearing of her trial (she faces 3 to 7 years in prison). In her hand, she held the Georgian edition of Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa’s book, How to Resist a Dictator (Ressa reposted the image and wrote on X: “Freedom for Georgia”).

Mzia began her hunger strike, and her face appeared on protest banners that have been displayed for 69 days, every evening. Her release – along with that of many others who have been unjustly arrested in recent weeks – has become one of the key demands of the protesters, who are also calling for new elections. The ruling party, Georgian Dream, claims to have won the recent elections on October 26, but there is evidence – from independent institutions – that they were not conducted legitimately, which has naturally been ignored by the regime. In violation of the Constitution, the government also suspended Georgia’s EU accession process. This was the moment, on November 28, when Georgians felt betrayed and decided they would not stop until they had the opportunity to vote again.

Many foreign countries have also called for Mzia’s release, and there have been official requests and popular protests, but Georgian Dream continues to ignore them. Yesterday, in front of Parliament during its session, journalists protesting for Mzia were dispersed. Natalia Leverashvili, who works for the Publika news site, was beaten and dragged by her hair, and some were arrested. The "Friends of Georgia" issued a statement yesterday calling for the release of Mzia and "the other 52 detained journalists, as well as the many political prisoners arrested in a crackdown of terror against democracy, civil rights, and Georgia’s future in Europe and the Atlantic." The signatories stated that Mzia is not receiving the necessary medical care and refuse to be fooled by the “Georgian Dream leadership’s attempts to distort the circumstances leading to Mzia’s arrest and undermine her credibility by labeling her as ‘foreign-funded.’”

The government’s strategy is always the same – a format inspired by Russia – and involves shouting about Western conspiracies and the provocations of peaceful protesters (this is something Georgians care deeply about, as even the Rose Revolution was peaceful and successful) who are enduring repression. There is also the contempt from Georgian Dream leaders, as shown by the words of the parliamentary group leader in Tbilisi, Mamuka Mdinaradze, who said two days ago: "Hunger leads to death," referring to Mzia’s hunger strike, adding, "All she has to do is eat again and it’s all over."

In the face of this injustice, many governments tend to minimize the issue, pretend nothing is happening, and continue business as usual, but silence is complicity with a government that uses violence against its citizens and has shut them out of Europe. The Georgians are determined not to stop, and we have a duty to support them.