“If Mzia Amaglobeli or her supporters are looking for culprits, those culprits were sitting in that courtroom as ambassadors who were encouraging her not to cooperate with the investigation,” Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili declared.
Parliament Speaker has accused foreign ambassadors of being responsible for journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli serving her full two-year prison sentence, claiming they discouraged her from cooperating with investigators and accepting a plea bargain.
“When we reviewed the 24 embassies’ statement on Mzia Amaglobeli’s verdict, I noticed the French ambassador’s signature. Let me remind you that in France, a person was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for slapping Macron. The person then cooperated with the court, admitted guilt, and received four months in prison with 14 months suspended, though still an 18-month sentence for assault,” Papuashvili stated.
“In Georgia, the court sentenced 24 months’ imprisonment for an analogous, similar case. It was exactly the same situation: a person who slapped the French president in the face, and in Georgia, a person was slapped in the face. The cases are identical analogies, including similar punishments: 18 months in France, 24 months in Georgia.
What’s the difference? The difference is that it was four months in prison and 14 months non-custodial in France, because a plea agreement was arranged. In Georgia, however, Mzia Amaglobeli neither cooperated, nor admitted guilt, nor accepted the proposed plea bargain,” Papuashvili stated.
The Speaker accused the French ambassador of hypocrisy in calling Georgia’s sentence disproportionate.
“The French ambassador calls this disproportionate. You know that the prosecutor’s office offered Mzia Amaglobeli a plea agreement. There was no agreement from Amaglobeli’s side, no admission of the crime that all of Georgia witnessed live on air. Accordingly, the court likely had no opportunity to make any further determinations,” Papuashvili added.
The Speaker blamed ambassadors who attended court hearings for advising against cooperation with the investigation.
“If Mzia Amaglobeli or her supporters are looking for culprits, those culprits were sitting in that courtroom as ambassadors who were encouraging her not to cooperate with the investigation. It is on the conscience of the ambassadors present in the courtroom that no plea agreement was reached, and that Mzia Amaglobeli must serve the full two years.
In the case of a plea bargain, it could have been part of a conditional sentence or a different arrangement. Instead of Mzia Amaglobeli, much like the individual in France who confessed to the crime, the ambassadors effectively cornered her. A sentence of 24 months is entirely proportional, and it is false to claim that it is disproportionate. The French ambassador is particularly misleading, as in France, a person was sentenced to 18 months for exactly the same offence,” said Papuashvili.
Batumi City Court on August 6 has sentenced Mzia Amaglobeli, founder of the Batumelebi and Netgazeti media outlets, to two years in prison. The sentence will commence on January 12, 2025, the day of her arrest.