UNM opposition leader Nika Melia refused bail
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The leader of the United National Movement opposition party (UNM) Nika Melia was refused bail earlier today.
The Judge of Tbilisi City Court Nino Chakhnashvili dismissed Melia from the courtroom because Melia called her ‘a slave’ (of the current government).
The opposition parties which have been demanding Melia’s release for about two months have stated earlier today that the government ‘is not willing to ease the current political tension’ and that Melia ‘remains a political prisoner.’
Melia was arrested on February 23, 2021 for his refusal to pay bail.
- Prosecutor’s Office: if Melia posts bail, we’ll request his release
- One individual ready to post bail for UNM opposition leader Nika Melia
His release was among top demands of the opposition in the EU-mediated talks last month.
However, the mediation efforts ended without the result.
Melia was arrested at UNM head office in the outskirts of Tbilisi. Photo: IPN.
What is the case about?
Melia is charged with incitement to violence during the June protests in Tbilisi back in 2019 which were sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament.
He was released on 30,000 GEL bail on June 27, 2020.
However, Melia violated the conditions of his bail by publicly removing his surveillance bracelet and 40,000 GEL was added to his bail in November 2020.
Melia has refused to pay the 40,000 GEL bail (within 50 days of sentencing) and on February 5, 2021 the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office warned him of the possibility of his bail conditions being reversed to detention.
On February 16 The Georgian Parliament suspended the MP status of Melia and allowed the country’s Prosecutor’s Office to request his arrest by the court.
On February 17 Tbilisi City Court ruled that Melia be remanded into custody for failure to post bail.
On February 18 Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia resigned ‘because he failed to make an agreement with the ruling Georgian Georgian Dream party over the arrest of Melia.’
The head of the Psychologists’ Development Research Centre Besik Bogveli has requested consent from the country’s Chief Prosecutor’s Office to post 40,000 GEL bail instead of the head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia.
Georgian law enforcers have detained one individual who allegedly shot at a banner of the United National Movement opposition party which depicts the party’s currently imprisoned leader Nika Melia.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office has stated earlier today that if the head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia posts bail, they will request his release from Tbilisi City Court.
Former opposition MP and the head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia has been arrested by police earlier today for refusal to post bail shortly after the parliament approved Irakli Garibashvili prime minister and his cabinet late yesterday. Melia was arrested in his office in the UNM headquarters in Tbilisi by special unit servicemen. Police allegedly used pepper spray in the room.
In an open letter to the US senators, Georgian non-governmental organisations are calling for the United States for greater involvement in resolution of the political crisis in Georgia.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has signed a EU-proposed agreement by mediator Christian Danielsson earlier today which concerns ‘ambitious electoral and judicial reform’ and offers amnesty for suspects and convicts of the June 19 protests in Tbilisi, including the currently imprisoned head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia. The Georgian Dream party and the opposition failed to sign the same agreement at the end of March 2021, following the second arrival of Danielsson to help the parties come to an agreement.
A bail worth 40,000 GEL was posted in order to allow for the United National Movement (UNM) chair Nika Melia’s release from pretrial detention, the European Union Delegation to Georgia has announced earlier today.
Tbilisi City Court has accepted the release of the head of the United National Movement Nika Melia after the European Union posted Melia’s 40,000 GEL bail on May 8, following the EU-mediated agreement between Georgian political parties in April. After the completion of technical issues Melia will leave Rustavi prison where he has been in pretrial custody since February 23, 2021.
The Georgian parliament has rejected the opposition’s amnesty bill for the June 2019 protests which was drafted following the EU-mediated agreement back in April 2021.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party head Irakli Kobakhidze and the United National Movement (UNM) party leader Nika Melia have clashed near the office of the European Union Delegation to Georgia on Chavchavadze Avenue, Tbilisi earlier today after the ruling party finished its meeting with foreign diplomats. Kobakhidze stated that the main topic of the assembly was the election environment, noting that he cannot discuss the details of the meeting.
Gia Tsagareishvili, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday hit back at the Chair of the United National Movement opposition party, Nika Melia, for the latter’s critical comments on GD on Thursday that accused the party of “collaborationism with the enemy” and called ruling party representatives “cannons” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Several members of the United National Movement - the largest opposition group in Georgia - on Wednesday voiced their desire for changes in party leadership, including replacement of the party’s current head Nika Melia.
Nika Melia, the head of the United National Movement opposition party on Wednesday said he was ready to re-run for the post “anytime” and slammed several of his party members for a “hasty” briefing earlier during the day that called for a leadership challenge.