The co-rapporteurs for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Edith Estrella (Portugal, Socialist Party) and Sabina Čudić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, ALDE), strongly condemn the two-year prison sentence of Mzia Amaglobeli.

“This sentence is disproportionate, clearly politically motivated and an example of the abuse of the criminal justice process to suppress independent media and dissident opinions. We call on the authorities to immediately release her and also call on them to fully respect Georgia’s [Council of Europe] membership obligations on freedom of expression and assembly,” the rapporteurs said.

The letter also states that the rapporteurs are planning a visit to Georgia this year.

For information, Georgia is one of ten Council of Europe member states subject to the Assembly's full monitoring procedure, which aims to assist countries in fulfilling their membership obligations and accession commitments.