GYLA: We believe that Mzia Amaglobeli not only remains in illegal detention, but the Georgian judiciary has demonstrably deprived her of the right to defend herself and prove her innocence

We believe that Mzia Amaglobeli not only remains in illegal detention, but the Georgian judiciary has demonstrably deprived her of the right to defend herself and prove her innocence, - reads the information released by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association.

As GYLA notes, the court fully satisfied the prosecution's motion and removed 17 people from the list of witnesses to be questioned by the defense, 18 video evidence, 13 inspection reports and 14 written evidence.

In addition, GYLA explains that Mzia Amaglobeli's defense will appeal the decision made at the pre-trial hearing to leave Mzia Amaglobeli without the right of defense within 5 days.

"The defense requested the termination of the criminal prosecution, since there is no evidence in the case that would be sufficient to assume with a high degree of probability that a guilty verdict will be reached. The defense presented at the trial the decisions of the Supreme Court in about 20 similar cases, according to which the court did not consider violent actions such as hitting a police officer in his head with a bottle, or with a stone, punching him in the face repeatedly, damaging his eye socket and lip, beating 2 police officers by 4 people, etc. as assault on a police officer. This proves that Mzia did not commit the crime she was charged with and, accordingly, there is no standard established by law for passing a guilty verdict.

The court fully satisfied the prosecution's motion and removed 17 individuals from the defense's list of witnesses, 18 pieces of video evidence, 13 inspection reports, and 14 pieces of written evidence. By this action, the court deprived Mzia Amaglobeli of her right to a fair trial and did not even procedurally ensure her right to a fair trial. There is no precedent for this decision in Georgian justice.

Notwithstanding the above, Mzia Amaglobeli's defense will appeal the decision made at the pre-trial hearing to deprive Mzia Amaglobeli of her right to a fair trial within 5 days. We will use all legal mechanisms to protect Mzia Amaglobeli's rights at the national and international levels.

We believe that Mzia Amaglobeli not only remains in illegal detention, but the Georgian judiciary has demonstrably deprived her of the right to defend herself and prove her innocence," reads the statement.