Salome Zurabishvili joined the rally in defense of Mzia Amaglobeli in Batumi
Today, February 1, the fifth President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili arrived in Batumi to support the protesters gathered at Shota Rustaveli State University. Hundreds of university students and activists organized a rally under the slogan "No to the Russian regime", demanding the release of the founder and director of the publishing group "Batumelebi Newspaper" Mzia Amaglobeli.
"Today I want to dedicate to Mzia Amaglobeli. Today she is the face of our country, she is Georgia. That is why today we are together. I am sure that she will remain strong and healthy, because she is Georgia," Zurabishvili addressed the protesters.
Mzia Amaglobeli, who is in custody, continues her hunger strike for the 21st day. She drinks only water, as reported by the human rights organization "Association of Young Lawyers". In her last letter from prison, the journalist wrote that she would consider herself "an accomplice to injustice" if she stopped the hunger protest. Solidarity actions with Amaglobeli and other political prisoners are regularly held in Georgia.
On the night of January 12, during a night rally against the government, Mzia Amaglobeli was detained twice. The first time was when she was pasting stickers calling for a strike. She was released two hours later, and a few minutes later she was detained again. The director of independent media is accused of attacking the head of the Batumi police Irakli Dgebuadze: it is reported that Amaglobeli slapped him. The corresponding article of the Criminal Code provides for 4 to 7 years of imprisonment.
Amaglobeli herself claims that the case brought against her is “the result of repressive, treacherous, violent processes against a person, speech and self-expression.” She wrote about this in a letter published by Netgazeti.
