'State won’t yield to blackmail,' says Georgian Dream chairman on journalist Mzia Amaglobeli’s hunger strike
Georgian authorities on Amaglobeli’s hunger strike
The chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, has dismissed journalist Mzia Amaglobeli’s hunger strike as “blackmailing the state.” Speaking at a briefing, Mdinaradze stated that she simply “needs to start eating, and everything will be over.” Amaglobeli has been on hunger strike in prison for 23 days.
Mzia Amaglobeli, founder of independent outlets Netgazeti and Batumelebi, was arrested twice during protests on 11-12 January 2025. The first time, she was detained after holding up a placard calling for a general strike at a rally. She was released an hour later.
Shortly after, police began detaining people who had come to support her without justification. Clashes broke out between protesters and officers, during which Amaglobeli was arrested again.
She is now facing charges of “assaulting a police officer” and could be sentenced to four to seven years in prison. Amaglobeli told Georgia’s ombudsman that she was subjected to ill-treatment by law enforcement: after her arrest, the head of Batumi police allegedly spat in her face and threatened her with violence.
Following her arrest, Amaglobeli declared a hunger strike.
“As for Ms. Mzia, people are portraying her as if she has done something heroic. Let her start eating, and it will all be over. If the state is blackmailed, it must not give in—that’s the norm in the civilized world. Hunger strikes and self-destruction should not be encouraged; what should be promoted is self-care and health. Releasing someone as a result of a hunger strike would, in any case, greatly harm the state,” Mdinaradze said.
Mamuka Mdinaradze claimed that those demanding journalist Mzia Amaglobeli’s release—including Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, and opposition politicians—“dream” of her death.
When asked by a journalist how Amaglobeli’s hunger strike might end, Mdinaradze responded, “Hunger usually leads to death.”
Amaglobeli holds Georgian Dream responsible – chair of Young Lawyers’ Association
On 4 February, Nona Kurdovanidze, chair of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, met with Mzia Amaglobeli in prison. Kurdovanidze stated that Amaglobeli was deeply frustrated by statements from Georgian Dream officials dismissing her hunger strike as blackmail.
“Mzia will not apologize to the person who spat in her face. She also finds it outrageous that Georgian Dream is trying to shift responsibility [for her hunger strike] onto the public. She receives many letters urging her to stop, but she cannot comply because she does not understand how one can accept injustice.
She holds Georgian Dream, Sozar Subari, and everyone making shameless statements about her case accountable,” Kurdovanidze said.
She added that Amaglobeli, now on her 23rd day of hunger strike, looked noticeably weaker than during their last meeting.
“She is on a total hunger strike, drinking only water. Naturally, this is taking a toll on her health. She feels weaker than when I last saw her. But she has no intention of stopping… From the very beginning, Mzia made it clear that she did not start her hunger strike to force concessions in her own case, but because of the injustice happening in Georgia. That is why she will continue this form of protest,” Kurdovanidze added.
Georgian authorities on Amaglobeli’s hunger strike
