On October 22, Mzia Amaghlobeli, the founder of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, who has been imprisoned for more than nine months, received the European Union’s highest human rights honor, the Sakharov Prize. This recognition of the journalist was followed by yet another attempt by pro-government television stations to discredit her.

Imedi TV published a series of propaganda-style social media posts about Mzia Amaghlobeli’s receipt of the Sakharov Prize. Among them were posts highlighting the Prime Minister from the Georgian Dream party referring to the journalist as a “foreign agent.”

Rustavi 2 published photos of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili together with Mzia Amaghlobeli and included a quote from Saakashvili about the journalist in the accompanying text – an apparent attempt to associate Amaghlobeli and her work with a political party.

Alongside Mzia Amaghlobeli, the Sakharov Prize was also awarded to imprisoned Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut. The Sakharov Prize honors individuals, groups, or organizations that have made an outstanding contribution to the defense of freedom of expression.