Last month, the UK and thirty-six other OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-­operation in Europe) participating states delivered a joint statement about Georgia, expressing alarm at the country’s deteriorating human rights situation and amplifying calls already made by civil society and lobby groups. After the October 2024 elections – widely condemned by international observers as neither free nor fair – the populist Georgian Dream party convened parliament, installed a new president and withdrew Georgia from European Union accession negotiations. These actions sparked nationwide protests that continue to this day. 

The authorities have repeatedly used excessive force against largely peaceful demonstrators. Riot police and groups affiliated with the authorities have with impunity assaulted opposition figures and independent journalists. Despite some cursory investigations into police misconduct, no law enforcement officials have been held accountable by the Georgian government. Instead, dozens of protesters have been convicted on spurious criminal charges of violence against the police, with some receiving lengthy prison terms.

On 6 August 2025, the Batumi City Court sentenced veteran Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli to two years in prison on charges of ‘resistance, threat, or violence against a public official’. Amaglobeli had slapped Batumi police chief Irakli Dgebuadze during a crackdown on peaceful protests on 12 January. 

Amaglobeli had entered