21:56, 2 August 2025

Protesters in Georgia demand freedom for political prisoners

Protesters at the Georgian Parliament blocked traffic on Rustaveli Avenue on the 248th day of continuous protests. The march passed through the center of Batumi, its participants also expressed support for those arrested for participating in the protests, including journalist Mzia Amaglobeli.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, on August 1, on the 247th day of continuous protests, activists in Batumi gathered today at the court where the trial of Mzia Amaglobeli is ending, and protesters in Tbilisi blocked traffic on Rustaveli Avenue.

Since November 28, 2024, protesters in Tbilisi have been holding daily rallies at the Georgian Parliament and blocking traffic along Rustaveli Avenue, demanding the release of all arrested supporters of European integration and the appointment of new parliamentary elections.

Today, on the 248th day of protests, protesters blocked traffic at the Georgian Parliament. Protesters are demanding new parliamentary elections, the release of political prisoners, and a course towards joining the European Union, Publika reported.

A mass rally is taking place today in Batumi. Before the protests, relatives of those arrested for participating in the protests distributed the newspaper “Letters of Political Prisoners to the Citizens of Georgia,” another publication says.

Members of various political parties, representatives of non-governmental organizations and civil activists organized a protest march in Batumi. They went to the Government House of Adjara, where rallies are held daily. They expressed solidarity with those detained during the protests and demanded the release of the detainees. The slogans are: “Freedom for the prisoners of the regime,” “No to illegal power,” Interpressnews reports.

Family members of young people detained during the pro-European rally in Tbilisi and the family of Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder of the Batumelebi and Netgazeti publications, also joined the protest.

The rally participants visited the offices of the Batumelebi and Netgazeti publications as a sign of solidarity. They expressed support for Mzia Amaglobeli's colleagues. They also noted that Mzia Amaglobeli is a prisoner of the regime.

Mzia Amaglobeli faces up to seven years in prison on charges of assaulting Batumi police chief Irakli Dgebuadze, whom the journalist slapped. At a court hearing on July 14, she explained that before that, a security officer had subjected her to inhumane treatment in the police station: according to Amaglobeli, the slap was "an impulsive reaction to humiliating treatment", although she does not regret what she did. Details of the case are given in the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Mzia Amaglobeli Case: Circumstances of the Arrest and the Campaign to Protect the Journalist".

"We will fight to the end, for Georgia's European future. We have been gathering at the Government House of Adjara for almost 250 days, Georgians are not broken and continue to protest without stopping," said one of the protesters.

Law enforcement officers have been mobilized near the Government House of Adjara and the Constitutional Court of Georgia, the publication says.

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Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/413518