ECHR Publishes Questions on Mzia Amaglobeli's Case

The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association appealed to the ECHR on April 28 regarding the application of the most severe pre-trial measure, imprisonment, against Mzia Amaglobeli, and numerous procedural violations in her criminal case. The substantive hearing of the case began two months later, on June 23. On July 15, the Court published the following questions for the parties:

• Was the applicant deprived of her liberty in breach of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention? In particular, was her detention compatible with Article 5 § 1 (c) in terms of being justified and based on a reasonable suspicion?
• Did the domestic courts provide relevant and sufficient reasons justifying the applicant’s initial and continued pre-trial detention, as required under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention? Did they consider alternative measures to her continued detention? 
• Did the applicant have an effective procedure by which to challenge the lawfulness of her detention, as required by Article 5 § 4 of the Convention?
• Was the applicant’s right to be presumed innocent, guaranteed by Article 6 § 2 of the Convention, breached in the present case, particularly in view of the reasoning by the trial judge regarding the parallel administrative proceedings pending against the applicant? 
• Was there an interference with the applicant’s rights under Articles 8 § 1 and 10 § 1 of the Convention on account of the seizure and search of her mobile phone? If so, was this interference compatible with the requirements set out in Articles 8 § 2 and 10 § 2 of the Convention? 
• Did the applicant have access to an effective domestic remedy for her complaint under Articles 8 and 10 of the Convention, as required by Article 13? 
• Were the restrictions imposed by the State in the present case, purportedly pursuant to Article 5 of the Convention [Right to liberty and security], applied for a purpose other than that envisaged by the said provision, in violation of Article 18 of the Convention?

The complaint filed by the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association states that Mzia Amaglobeli's fundamental rights under the European Convention on Human Rights were violated, including the right to liberty and security (Article 5), the right to a fair trial (Article 6), the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8), freedom of expression (Article 10), Article 13 in conjunction with Articles 8 and 10 (right to an effective remedy), and the scope of limitation on rights (Article 18).

“The court communicated the case, including in relation to Article 18, which is violated when the scale of unlawfulness in a case goes beyond mere breaches of the substantive Convention articles and points to an intention prohibited by Article 18 of the Convention”, says GYLA Chairperson Nona Kurdovanidze.

Mzia Amaglobeli, founder of Netgazeti and Batumelebi, was arrested on January 12 for slapping the Batumi police chief, Irakli Dgebuadze. She has been charged under criminal law with assaulting a police officer, a charge that carries a sentence of 4 to 7 years in prison. 

DIrakli Dgebuadze sustained no injuries from the slap, though he claims his "cheek hurt." After her arrest, Dgebuadze spat in Amaglobeli’s face while she was handcuffed inside the Batumi police station. She was denied drinking water and access to the restroom for several hours. Lawyers were also prevented from seeing her for more than three hours. According to Amaglobeli’s testimony, Dgebuadze also attempted to assault her, but was restrained by his colleagues. 

The prosecutor’s office has not investigated the offenses committed against Amaglobeli. After her arrest, she went on a hunger strike for 38 days. During her unlawful imprisonment, her eyesight deteriorated alarmingly.