Journalistic career Amaglobeli started her journalistic career in
Batumi in 2000 as a reporter for "Adjara PS" newspaper. In 2001, Amaglobeli and her friend and colleague
Eter Turadze founded the independent media organization "
Batumelebi" in the form of a non-periodical printed newspaper. Since the founding of the newspaper company, Amaglobeli has been its primary journalist, editor, and
chief executive officer. The media outlet angered Russian authorities, receiving the status of "an organization disseminating anti-Russian propaganda" and was banned in Russia. In 2022, Russia's communications regulator
Roskomnadzor blocked the Russian-language versions of
Netgazeti and Batumelebi.
Arrest and trial The events leading up to Amaglobeli's arrest began on the night of 11 January in the city of
Batumi amid protests calling for a re-run of the disputed
October 2024 election; she was arrested twice that night. The
Prosecutor's Office accused Amaghlobeli of slapping the head of Batumi police, Irakli Dgebuadze, allegedly motivated by "revenge". The court rejected the defense's proposal of a 100,000
₾ bail. The prosecution's arguments were based on risks of flight, failure to appear in court, destruction of evidence important to the case, and the potential for repeated offenses. However, the judge showed no interest in the evidentiary basis for these risks when ordering Amaghlobeli's detention. The
Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) argued that there is no justification for pretrial detention in this case, as there were no risks of flight, witness tampering, or obstruction of the investigation by Amaghlobeli. One of the grounds for the justification of Amaghlobeli's detention was the falsified record of her administrative detention. According to GYLA chairwoman Nona Kurdovanidze, Amaghlobeli's detention was first carried out under Article 150 (defacement of property), but after the police realized that this could not be used as a legal basis for detention, they instead recorded the case under Article 173 (disobeying law enforcement), claiming that she had verbally insulted officers. Kurdovanidze also argued that the temporary placement of a sticker cannot be considered any kind of offense. Ressa responded with a statement about the
protests in Georgia and Amaglobeli's detention during a speech at a
Vatican jubilee event. Monitors and human rights defenders who were able to communicate with Amaglobeli demanded investigation of her ill-treatment after the second arrest. According to Amaglobeli's account, she was verbally and physically harassed at the police station. She alleges that police chief Dgebuadze swore at her, spat in her face, and made several attempts at physically abusing her but was stopped by other policemen. On 21 January, the Kutaisi Court of Appeals refused to review the complaint regarding the modification of Amaglobeli's pretrial detention. On 18 Маrch, a Batumi City Court judge announced his verdict regarding Amaglobeli's administrative charges. In the final session, the defense side presented video evidence and argued that her detention protocol had been false for two reasons: it was signed by one police official, while Amaglobeli was in reality detained by another one and, besides, she was putting up a sticker on the wall, and not verbally insulting a policeman as the authorities initially claimed. However, the judge ruled that the journalist had disobeyed their lawful demands and sentenced her to a 2,000₾ fine. On 6 August 2025, Amaghlobeli was convicted on the lesser charge of resistance, threats or violence against a defender of the public order or other government officials and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. In 18 November 2025, an appeals court upheld Amaglobeli's sentence.
Legality Local and international watchdogs argue that the criminal detention of the media manager does not comply with the legal logic. They consider the classification of her actions as "assault" to be incompatible with the circumstances of the case, unfounded, disproportionate, and unjust. They declare that Amaglobeli's actions are inconsistent with the charge presented to her, and the act of slapping does not meet the criteria for a crime under the criminal code. In their view, the charges against the media manager are unfounded, politically motivated, and an attempt to intimidate her. Amaghlobeli's lawyer, Maia Mtsariashvili, describes the accusation as "manipulated."
Transparency International commented on the case, stating: In a statement on
Imedi TV, Prime Minister
Irakli Kobakhidze insisted that the legal action against Amaghlobeli was related to political activism rather than journalistic endeavors and claimed that her actions during the event served no other purpose but to demonstratively tarnish the image of the police. == Campaign for her release ==