Georgia detains second opposition leader in a week
Nika Melia (Photo: wikipedia)

A Tbilisi court on May 30 took Nika Melia, one of the leaders of the opposition bloc "Coalition for Change", into custody for failing to comply with the demands of the temporary investigative commission of the Georgian parliament. He became the second opposition leader to be taken into custody in a week, Reuters reports .

According to the agency, Melia was detained the day before for refusing to appear for a parliamentary investigation into alleged crimes committed during the time of imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili between 2004 and 2012.

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The next day, the court ordered Melia to be placed in custody pending an investigation into the commission's failure to comply with its requirements. The Criminal Code of Georgia provides for a fine or imprisonment for up to a year.

It is reported that during the announcement of the decision on the preventive measure, Melia threw water at the judge from the dock. The oppositionist was taken out of the courtroom.

Last week, a court remanded another leader of the Coalition for Change, Zurab Japaridze, in custody on the same grounds. Japaridze also refused to testify before a parliamentary ad hoc committee.

Earlier in May, the Tbilisi City Court replaced the bail order imposed on former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili with pretrial detention. He was arrested right in the courtroom on charges of failing to comply with the demands of the Georgian parliament's temporary investigative commission, established to investigate the rule of the National Movement government (2004-2012).

  • On November 28, 2024, the European Parliament called for new parliamentary elections in Georgia.
  • On the same day, Kobakhidze announced that Georgia was abandoning negotiations on EU accession until 2028. Following this statement, rallies began in Tbilisi.
  • On December 5, Zelensky signed a decree imposing sanctions against Georgian officials.
  • On December 27, the US imposed sanctions against pro-Russian oligarch and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party in Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili.