On October 10, 2025, the Georgian Dream referred to the founder of “Batumelebi”/“Netgazeti”, the prisoner Mzia Amaglobeli, as a perpetrator and “executor of the tasks of the deep state”. This statement by the Georgian Dream followed the presentation of the IPI-IMS World Press Freedom Hero Award to Mzia Amaglobeli.

“The decision to present the Hero Award to a criminal who deliberately attacked the police and with this action slapped not one specific law enforcement officer, but the entire system and the state, is another act of impudence, a mockery of Georgian society, a mockery of free speech and free media”, – said the press service of the Georgian Dream, Giorgi Grdzelishvili, at a briefing.
It is worth noting that this briefing was largely devoted to the topic of presenting the award to Mzia Amaglobeli. “The presentation of the Hero Award to Mzia Amaglobeli clearly shows the difficult situation of the international media, the international press…”, – said the spokesperson of the “Georgian Dream” at a special briefing.

On October 9, 2025, it became known that Mzia Amaglobeli, who was sentenced to 2 years in prison by the “Georgian Dream” court for slapping a police officer, is among the winners of the 2025 World Press Freedom Hero Award. The award is established by the International Press Institute IPI-IMS. A total of 7 journalists were named as the winners of the 2025 award. “This year’s award winners are examples of the threats facing journalists around the world, as authoritarianism takes hold, impunity prevails, and new challenges arise for freedom of expression,” – said the Executive Director of the IPI.