UNM opposition chair may be arrested for refusal to pay bail
Nika Melia became the new head of the United National Movement party in December 2020. Photo: Nika Melia’s Facebook page.
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The new chair of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia may be sent to pretrial detention for refusing to pay 40,000 GEL bail, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office said earlier today.
Melia was released on bail in November 2020.
He is charged with incitement to violence during the June protests in Tbilisi back in 2019.
Per the court’s decision Melia must also wear a monitoring bracelet.
However, he publicly removed the bracelet in November 2020.
Melia was obliged to have posted bail by December 24, 2020.
The Prosecutor’s Office says that if Melia refuses to pay the sum they will ask the court for him to be detained.
The Prosecutor’s Office says that they will appeal the verdict of Tbilisi City Court against former opposition MP Nika Melia in the high-profile Cartu Bank case.
Nika Melia will be the next chair of the United National Movement (UNM) based on the results of the opposition party polls. The UNM launched an online poll on December 21 following Grigol Vashadze’s resignation.
The United National Movement opposition party has appealed the December 12 decision of the Georgian parliament to the Constitutional Court on dismissal of its MP Nika Melia. The party says that the decision will also be appealed to the Court of Appeals.
The Georgian parliament's Procedural Issues Committee has approved the suspension of the MP status of United National Movement opposition member Nika Melia following the recent verdict of a court in the high profile Cartu Bank case.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office has asked parliament to suspend MP status for the new chair of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia to then request his arrest from the court.
The ruling Georgian Dream party will support the suspension of the MP immunity for opposition United National Movement party chair Nika Melia as he has refused to pay the bail. The Chief Prosecutor’s Office asked parliament to suspend MP status for Melia to then request his arrest from the court on Friday.
The Georgian Parliament has suspended opposition MP and the new chair of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia earlier today per the request of the Prosecutor’s Office.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell fears that the possible arrest of opposition MP and the head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia will further deepen the Georgian political crisis and create additional barriers between the ruling party and the opposition to achieve an election agreement.
Tbilisi City Court has ruled that United National Movement chair Nika Melia be remanded into custody for failure to post bail, per the request of the country’s Prosecutor’s Office. Meanwhile, the United States Embassy to Georgia calls on the authorities and the opposition 'to exercise maximum restraint in the wake of tonight’s ruling'.
The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday ruled legitimate the arrest and detention of opposition leader Nika Melia for incitement to violence during protests in Tbilisi back in June 2019.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said today’s ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, which confirming the legitimacy of the 2019 arrest and detention of opposition leader Nika Melia, was “yet another victory” for the reputation of the country’s judicial system.