TBILISI, December 16 – The European Parliament used its top human rights award ceremony on Tuesday to honor newspaper founder Mzia Amaghlobeli and her Belarusian colleague Andrzej Poczobut.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said Amaghlobeli and Poczobut embody courage, as she spoke during the Sakharov Prize award event in Strasbourg. Metsola said the Parliament would keep defending the unconditional freedom of political prisoners and journalists detained simply for doing their job.
The ceremony formally honored the 2025 Sakharov Prize winners, named earlier in October: Amaghlobeli, the founder of Georgian outlets Netgazeti and Batumelebi, and Poczobut. Because both are in prison, the awards were received by representatives: Poczobut’s daughter, Yana Poczobut, accepted on his behalf, while Georgian journalist Irma Dimitradze accepted for Amaghlobeli. The prize carries 50,000 euros.
During the event, Dimitradze also read a letter Amaghlobeli sent from prison. In the message, Amaghlobeli appealed for solidarity and urged European leaders to use all available mechanisms to influence what she described as autocratic rulers. She wrote that in her view, Georgia’s push toward the EU is being met with repression at home, and she linked Georgia’s security challenges to Russia, recalling Soviet rule and the 2008 war.
Metsola addressed Georgians who want closer ties with the EU, saying the Parliament stands firmly with them and will keep working to bring Georgia closer to Europe.
Later on Tuesday, the European People’s Party also posted a message on X describing Amaghlobeli and Poczobut as standing on ‘two fronts in the same struggle defending truth, dignity, and free expression against Kremlin-backed tyranny.’
