NEWS
The detention and criminal prosecution of Mzia Amaglobeli, the
founder of "Batumelebi" and "Netgazeti," are unlawful and
constitute a form of political repression. As the public is aware, Mzia
Amaghlobeli was initially arbitrarily detained under administrative law on
January 11, 2025, while putting up a protest sticker. She was later released on
a personal guarantee. Shortly after her release, she was detained again under
criminal law, charged with an offense under Article 353¹, Part 1 of the
Georgian Criminal Code, which pertains to an assault on a police officer in
connection with their official duties. The Batumi City Court unjustifiably
imposed the strictest measure of restraint—detention—against her.
Mzia Amaglobeli's case reveals numerous violations, underscoring
the politically motivated nature of her prosecution. Evidence of political
persecution includes:
Arbitrary Administrative Detention
On January 11, 2025, activists gathered in Batumi for a protest,
displaying stickers with the inscription: "Georgia goes on strike on
January 15 at 15:00." During the protest, the police began arbitrarily
detaining participants. Upon learning that her friend, Tsiala Khatamadze,
had been detained, Mzia Amaglobeli arrived at the scene and took a sticker
from one of the individuals and placed it on the wall herself. At this moment,
without any warning, she was arbitrarily detained under administrative law.
Approximately one hour after her detention, Mzia Amaglobeli was released on a
personal guarantee.
The Administrative Offences Code outlines the grounds under which
a police officer is authorized to detain an individual. The act of posting a
protest sticker, which does not require extraordinary effort or resources to
remove, does not constitute an administrative offense. Even if this act were
considered as altering the appearance of property, a Ministry of Internal
Affairs officer would not have the authority to detain an individual for such
an act.[1]
In order to justify the arbitrary detention, the police drew up a
detention report under Article 173 of the Administrative Offenses Code.
However, to date, no formal administrative offence report has been created, nor
has a court confirmed that an offence was committed. Nevertheless, this
circumstance was used by the Prosecutor's Office and the Batumi City Court in
the criminal case initiated against Mzia Amaghlobeli.
Inappropriate Treatment of Mzia Amaghlobeli
After her release on a personal guarantee, Mzia
Amaghlobeli left the police station building and found herself on the side of
the police cordon, while protestors continued their protest outside the police
yard. Mzia Amaghlobeli noticed that her colleague was surrounded by the police,
and she tried to approach him. In the commotion, she fell and was stepped on
several times by the police officers. After getting up, she was able to reach
her colleague and learned that, during her detention, the police continued
their unlawful actions against the protestors, including arbitrary detentions.
After her hand came into contact with Irakli
Dgebuadze's face, Mzia Amaghlobeli was detained under criminal law. Following
her criminal detention, Mzia Amaghlobeli was subjected to inappropriate
treatment by the head of Batumi Police, Irakli Dgebuadze, both in the police
yard and inside the police station building. Before being taken into the
building, Dgebuadze verbally abused her several times in the yard and
threatened to initiate a criminal case against her.[2] Inside the station, Dgebuadze attempted to physically
confront her multiple times. Other police officers intervened and managed to
remove Dgebuadze from the room. During one of the entries into the room, he
spat in Mzia Amaghlobeli’s face. Moreover, for some time, she was not provided
with access to drinking water or other basic necessities.
Mzia Amaghlobeli repeatedly requested to
contact her lawyers, but her requests were ignored. Meanwhile, her lawyers
spent approximately three hours trying to enter the police station and meet
with her, without success.
Failure
of the Special Investigation Service to Address Inappropriate Treatment of Mzia
Amaghlobeli
The
Special Investigation Service is responsible for investigating cases of
inappropriate treatment. On January 12, the Special Investigation Service was
informed about the incident, which provides sufficient grounds to initiate an
investigation.[3] However, instead of starting
an investigation, the Special Investigation Service initiated an
"examination" process, which does not constitute a procedural action.
On January 15, Mzia Amaghlobeli provided detailed information to the
investigator of the Special Investigation Service regarding the inappropriate
treatment. The Special Investigation Service confirmed the initiation of an
investigation only today, January 20, during a phone conversation, and only
after an official statement was submitted by GYLA. As of now, the Special
Investigation Service has not granted victim status to Mzia Amaghlobeli.
Unlawful
Criminal Charge
The Prosecutor’s Office charged Mzia Amaghlobeli under
Article 353¹, Part 1 of the Criminal Code. This article criminalizes an assault
on a police officer or their service or residential building, transport
vehicle, or family member, provided the assault is related to the officer’s
professional duties. For the act to be classified under this article, the
following key elements must be present:
Mzia
Amaghlobeli’s action – her hand coming into contact with Irakli Dgebuadze’s
face – does not contain any of the elements required for the charge under
Article 353¹. Even Irakli Dgebuadze’s own statements, which he gave to the
investigation in this case, do not support the qualification under Article
353¹. According to his description, after the contact, he experienced redness
on his right cheek and ear and felt pain. However, according to case law,
physical pain confirmed only by perception does not fall under the definition
of assault. Moreover, Mzia Amaghlobeli’s action could not even have caused
physical pain, which excludes a criminal charge under this article or any other,
less severe articles of the Criminal Code. Therefore, the criminal charge
against Mzia Amaghlobeli represents an act of intimidation and political
repression.
Unjust Use of the Strictest Measure of
Restraint – Detention
On January 14, 2025,
the first hearing was held in the Batumi City Court. The prosecutor, without
justification, requested the most severe measure of restraint - detention.
Judge Nino Sakhelashvili granted the prosecutor’s unsubstantiated request. The
court’s decision was based on the prosecution’s abstract and hypothetical claim
regarding the risks of committing a new offense and destroying evidence. The
prosecutor’s motion did not present any real arguments or circumstances that
would substantiate the existence of such risks. Both the prosecutor and the
court ignored the requirement of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia, which
stipulates that detention as a measure of restraint should only be applied in
exceptional cases and the alternative preventive measures are always preferred.
Despite the absence of
any grounds for applying a measure of restraint, Mzia Amaghlobeli’s lawyers
suggested to the court the use of a lighter measure of restraint—bail—rather
than detention. However, the judge unconditionally accepted the prosecutor's request.
The court used the fact of Mzia Amaghlobeli's administrative detention and the
potential for a legal violation as the basis for its decision, even though the
legality of her detention and the commission of a violation had not yet been
established. By doing this, the judge violated Mzia Amaghlobeli's presumption
of innocence and demonstrated clear bias in favor of the prosecution.
Delay in Forwarding the Appeal to the
Court of Appeals
On January 15, 2025, at 5:45 PM, Mzia
Amaghlobeli’s legal representatives submitted an appeal to Batumi City Court,
seeking to change her unlawful detention. According to the law, the appeal
should be reviewed by the Court of Appeals in Kutaisi, but the physical
submission of the document must first be made to the court that issued the
detention order. Batumi City Court was obligated to promptly forward the appeal
to the Court of Appeals immediately upon receipt. However, this clear legal
requirement was not fulfilled.[4] The court delayed sending the appeal
by four days. The Investigative Panel of the Court of Appeals received the case
materials today at 12:00 and is now beginning the review of the appeal.
Questioning the Judge’s
Qualifications
The first hearing in Batumi City Court,
which resulted in the decision to impose detention on Mzia Amaghlobeli, was
conducted by Judge Nino Sakhelashvili. According to information available on
the High Council of Justice's official website, Judge Sakhelashvili passed the
judicial qualification exams in the field of civil-administrative law. In 2022,
she began her judicial career in the Civil Division of Batumi City Court.[5]
However, there is no information on the
website indicating when or if she was officially reassigned to a different
division or when she began handling criminal cases. If the High Council of
Justice reallocated her to another division, this highlights a problematic
practice whereby judges are assigned to divisions without regard to the area in
which they passed their qualification exams. This practice could potentially be
seen as a violation of the right to a fair trial.
Considering the
Circumstances, We Demand:
·
The
prosecution to immediately terminate the unlawful criminal case against Mzia
Amaglobeli;
·
Mzia
Amaghlobeli to be released immediately from unlawful detention;
·
The
Special Investigation Service to fulfill its obligations and promptly
investigate the inhumane treatment of Mzia Amaglobeli;
·
Irakli
Dgebuadze to be suspended from his official duties pending the completion of
the investigation.
[1] Administrative Offenses
Code of Georgia, Article 246.
[2] Video footage: Watch
here.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=589294457041491&rdid=Y1kJUWZRZhSF73tK
[3] Criminal Procedure Code
of Georgia, Article 100.
[4] Criminal Procedure Code
of Georgia, Article 207.
[5] Information on the High
Council of Justice website is available at the following link: High Council of
Justice - Nino Sakhelashvili.
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