This year's Sakharov Prize goes to two journalists who are currently imprisoned, including Mzia Amaghlobeli from Georgia.
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.
