ECHR ruling confirms legitimacy of opposition leader's arrest by Georgian law enforcement
The Ministry said the European Court “fully agreed” with its position on the case and with the evidence submitted, and decided no violation of articles of the European Convention had occurred against Melia. Photo: CoE
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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.
The Ministry of Justice of Georgia said the court’s ruling “proved” Melia's arrest and preventative detention - during demonstrations sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian Parliament - had been “both legal and in complete accordance” with the European Convention on Human Rights standards.
The Court also ruled there were no political motives in Melia's arrest and did not share the arguments of the applicant.
Judgment Melia v. Georgia - No ulterior motive behind Georgian court’s decision to detain an opposition leader https://t.co/eFPe1pvqys#ECHR #CEDH #ECHRpress pic.twitter.com/GPSPTdVB2Z
— ECHR CEDH (@ECHR_CEDH) September 7, 2023
Former leader and now member of the United National Movement parliamentary opposition, Melia was charged with “organising group violence, heading a group and participation in violence” during the rallies.
He was then released on a ₾30,000 ($10,000) bail in June 2020, ordered to wear an electronic monitoring tag, prohibited from leaving home without informing law enforcement, and barred from making public statements in public spaces and communicating with witnesses.
However, Melia violated the conditions of his bail by publicly removing his tag, leading to ₾40,000 ($15,268) being added to his bail in November 2020. He refused to pay the amount, with Tbilisi City Court ruling in February 2021 that he be remanded into custody for failure to post bail. He was released on May 10, 2021 after posting the bail.
The Ministry said the European Court “fully agreed” with its position on the case and with the evidence submitted, and decided no violation of articles of the European Convention had occurred against Melia.