We warmly congratulate Mzia Amaghlobeli on receiving the Sakharov Prize. The online newspapers Batumelebi and Netgazeti, which she co-founded and runs, are among Georgia's most important independent media outlets. They stand for critical, ethical journalism in a tolerant, democratic, and constitutional Georgia, which so many in Georgia aspire to.
This is one of the reasons why the Heinrich Böll Foundation has been a close partner of Batumelebi and Netgazeti for many years. Mzia Amaghlobeli's sentence to two years in prison is a clear attempt at political intimidation. We demand her release and an end to all repression against independent journalists and civil society in Georgia.
