Batumi City Court Judge Nino Sakhelashvili will announce the verdict today, August 6, in the criminal case against Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti. The verdict is scheduled to be delivered at 14:00.

At the previous hearing, Mzia Amaglobeli gave her final statement. The imprisoned journalist once again emphasized that her action did not constitute an assault on a police officer. According to Amaglobe, for this very reason, she cannot agree to the prosecution’s offer of a plea deal.

"The first thing I want to talk about is the plea agreement offered by the prosecution. Where I am held, a plea deal is truly considered a blessing, but my lawyers failed to express my position – I cannot sign this plea agreement. The offer is extremely insulting and equivalent to being buried alive. What happened was not an assault. Portraying a slap as an assault is evil – I don’t know what kind of justice that is. I’ve been thinking about this for seven months. From the very first day of my arrest, I have not evaded responsibility, unlike the so-called victim Dgebuadze… I believe that there is an appropriate article in the law for my action – the slap," said Mzia Amaglobeli.

For context, the founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti is accused of assaulting a police officer, which is punishable by 4 to 7 years in prison. She slapped the head of Batumi Police, Irakli Dgebuadze.