“The MFC’s support means a great deal to journalists and media communities who are oppressed and unjustly persecuted,” says Georgian journalist Irma Dimidtradze.
Dimitradze works for the Georgian media organisation Gazeti Batumelebi, and during 2025 this organisation’s founder, Mzia Amaglobeli, has become one of the most high-profile imprisoned journalists both regionally and globally. Amaglobeli is the first woman journalist to be jailed in Georgia since the country gained its independence in 1991.
But alongside recent media freedom developments in Georgia, member countries of the Media Freedom Coalition – particularly through their embassies – have been active in defending media freedom, including through public statements and trial monitoring. Their actions have been viewed as vitally important by independent journalists in Georgia.
One of the most visible actions has been the use of coordinated public statements.
Early in 2025, 14 embassies of MFC member countries in Georgia issued a joint statement on the welfare and treatment of Amaglobeli after her arrest. The statement expressed concern about her detention and health, and also made clear that diplomatic missions were closely following developments in the case.
This statement was covered by 15 news organisations including Georgia Today, NetGazeti, and Rustavi2.
In July, a press freedom mission to Georgia was carried out by organisations including MFC Consultative Network members Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International Press Institute (IPI), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). During the mission, MFC member embassies attended a court hearing of Amaglobeli, and the Dutch Ambassador to Georgia said in an X post that they “stand in support of independent media & freedom of expression in Georgia”.
Many embassies also monitored the case of Amaglobeli independently. In one such case, the Deputy Head of Mission of the French embassy in Georgia joined Dimidtradze during a hearing.
Dimitradze says there are multiple reasons why trial monitoring by MFC members is so important.
She says, “In Mzia’s case, the presence of Member States monitoring the trial was crucial. It was not only a powerful sign of solidarity… but also a clear message that the democratic world stands for press freedom and against the repression unfolding in Georgia.” Dimitradze added that engagement of embassies helped to counter the spread of disinformation on Amaglobeli’s case.
When Amaglobeli was subsequently given a custodial sentence in August 2025, 24 EU diplomatic missions, including MFC member states such as the United Kingdom, Norway, Ukraine and others, published a further joint statement. This was covered by at least 11 media outlets in Georgia, including Civil Georgia, InterPress News, and Batumalebi.
Ambassadors and senior diplomats have also used interviews and public events to highlight media freedom concerns in Georgia.
In an interview with Batumelebi, the British Ambassador to Georgia stressed that the UK had consistently called for Mzia Amaglobeli’s release and connected the case with wider trends. The Ambassador also published a video statement on X about media freedom in Georgia, which was covered by several news organisations and prompted a response from the Georgian Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament’s Procedural Issues Committee.
As Dimitradze highlights, “I firmly believe that the work of MFC and its member states can have an even greater impact through timely, coordinated, and effectively implemented measures such as statements and advocating for targeted sanctions, especially as media oppression continues to escalate.”
