A courtroom sketch of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli's hearing on July 14, 2025. Amaglobeli is seen standing at far right. (Illustration: Ana Janelidz)
Georgia has been on my mind a lot lately: Georgia, the country and Georgia, the U.S. state. Their similarities have been nagging at me ever since I returned last month from a trip to Georgia – the country – where I met with colleagues of imprisoned journalist Mzia Amaglobeli.
Amaglobeli, an award-winning newspaper founder and editor, has been in jail since January after she slapped a police officer who had been harassing her. Repeatedly denied requests for bail, Amaglobeli has been kept in pretrial detention ever since. Denied treatment she desperately needs, her eyesight has deteriorated dramatically.
On precisely the same day I took to a public stage in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, to discuss Amaglobeli’s case – alongside Committee to Protect Journalists board members Maria Ressa and Caoilfhionn Gallagher – another journalist was being arrested in Georgia. This time, in the United States.
