Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli – currently in prison for what are widely considered politically motivated charges – has been nominated for the EU’s Sakharov Prize to be announced on 16 December. We asked her peer, journalist Natia Kuprashvili, for her testimony on Mzia’s detention and the current situation in Georgia. Natia Kuprashvili received the EaP CSF Civil Society Award in 2024 for her organisation’s contribution to the fight for media freedom and independent civil society in Georgia.
As a Georgian journalist, what was your immediate reaction to Mzia Amaglobeli’s Sakharov Prize nomination? What message of solidarity would you like to send to Mzia, to her colleagues at Batumelebi/ Netgazeti, and to her family as they face this politically motivated persecution?
Natia Kuprashvili: “My immediate reaction was mixed — encouraging, yet profoundly sad. My colleagues and I are tormented not because Mzia’s release remains unresolved, but because we have not yet succeeded in freeing her. More than two hundred days of her unlawful detention weigh heavily on us.
Still, these are not days of despair; they are days of extraordinary solidarity for Georgian media — a solidarity that Mzia herself has inspired through her courage and integrity. Every recognition of her bravery and steadfast principles gives us renewed strength to continue this fight”.
Your organisation, the Journalism Resource Centre, received the EaP CSF Civil Society Award in 2024 for its work speaking about the very trends Mzia’s case highlights. What do you hope a widely recognized European award like the Sakharov Prize could achieve for Mzia and the pro-democracy movement in Georgia?
Natia Kuprashvili: “I want to share a short memory of Mzia: last year I visited her office at her request to review Batumelebi’s internal self-regulation mechanisms and think together about improvements. Batumelebi was, and remains, one of our strongest journalistic hubs — I joked that it least needed “improvement.”
She replied that improvement is a continuous process. Democracy is the same: it lives in processes, in attention to detail, in recognizing and valuing each other’s work. International recognition validates that ongoing effort and gives us strength to continue”.
Mzia Amaglobeli is the first female political prisoner and journalist in Georgia since independence. How emblematic is her case, and the criminal charges against her, of the systematic challenges and escalating risks currently faced by independent media in Georgia?
Natia Kuprashvili: “During her unlawful detention Mzia repeatedly said she draws strength from her colleagues and from the resilience of the Georgian media.
Indeed, our media sector has proven remarkably robust compared with other institutions: no Georgian media outlet has been registered in the so-called “agents” registry that now lists hundreds of NGOs — unlike in other countries. Georgian media’s refusal has been clear and loud.
Yes, Mzia is the first female political prisoner and journalist in our post-independence era, and we must ensure she does not share the tragic fates of other persecuted women in our history. Georgian media needs Mzia healthy and free — and we will fight to secure that”.
The charges against Mzia are widely considered politically motivated, and the EaP Index has documented Georgia’s severe democratic backsliding over the past two years. In your professional experience, what is the most damaging long-term effect of such systemic persecution on a country’s civil society, media landscape, and its path toward European integration?
Natia Kuprashvili: “I strongly disagree with the term “democratic backsliding” — democracy in Georgia has not retreated; it is under direct assault. Yet despite the pressure, the fight for freedom and dignity continues every single day, and no one has surrendered.
What worries me most is not the strength of those attacking democracy, but the risk that international partners might start to believe that Georgia is already lost. If respected voices abroad declare defeat, they could unintentionally weaken and demoralize those who are still resisting inside the country. Such a perception would be far more destructive than any external threat — it would endanger Georgia’s democratic spirit and jeopardize its European future”.
You have been part of the Eastern Partnership civil society networks for many years. Do you see parallels between the current shrinking civic space in Georgia and the long-term repression in Belarus that another Sakharov Prize nominee and journalist, Andrzej Poczobut, faces? How can activists in Georgia and Belarus support each other’s fight for democratic and European values?
Natia Kuprashvili: “Many of the anti-democratic tactics we face were refined elsewhere and have been exported and adapted here — notably by the Kremlin.
There are both similarities and differences with other contexts, but precisely because these methods are shared, Belarusian colleagues can offer valuable lessons from decades of repression.
The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum is a unique space where EaP civil society organisations can connect, exchange experience, and strengthen one another in the common struggle for democratic and European values”.
The 2025 Sakharov Prize laureate will be made public on 16 December. Regardless of the outcome, what concrete, non-symbolic actions would you urge the international community to take between now and then to obtain Mzia Amaglobeli’s immediate and unconditional release?
Natia Kuprashvili: “At her court hearing, Mzia wrote “Fight while there is still time” onto a scrap of paper. She then passed it onto us while holding a copy of Maria Ressa’s How to Resist a Dictator.
I now echo that gesture and that appeal: “Fight while there is still time.”
But let this not be reduced to a slogan or a line in a statement — fighting must mean concrete, results-oriented action: targeted diplomatic pressure, guaranteed legal and medical access, sustained media amplification, and practical support for those under threat. Act decisively — not just with words, but with measures that produce results”.
Mzia Amaglobeli has been nominated for the 2025 Sakharov Prize. You can find out more about the Sakharov Prize process here. You can read about Mzia’s and the campaign to free her here.
Natia Kuprashvili is the recipient of the 2024 EaP CSF Civil Society Award.
