Day: May 29, 2025

Georgian oppositionist Nika Melia arrested in Tbilisi

One of the leaders of the opposition “Coalition for Change”, Nika Melia, has been arrested in Tbilisi. According to his lawyer Giorgi Kondakhashvili, police officers stopped Melia in the Lisi Lake area, where he was heading to record a program.

The lawyer said the opposition leader was stopped by a patrol and forced into a car. He ruled out the possibility that Melia’s arrest was related to any ongoing criminal case.

He suggested that the coalition leader was being detained under an administrative charge to force him to appear in court tomorrow – a hearing Melia had publicly refused to attend.

“The prosecution postponed the hearing until tomorrow under a technical pretext. My expectations were confirmed, as the deadline for Melia to pay bail expires today at midnight. This means that the prosecution would no longer have grounds to request his arrest during today’s hearing.

They ignored the defence’s request not to schedule the hearing for tomorrow and set it for 2:00 p.m. I believe the prosecution will likely request Melia be taken into custody to avoid losing time. I think this was prearranged with the court,” said lawyer Giorgi Kondakhashvili.

According to another “Coalition for Change” leader, Nika Gvaramia, there are no grounds for Melia’s arrest. He explained that, formally, the bail deadline had not yet expired and that the court had not ruled to change the measure of restraint.

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It is worth recalling that a court hearing in Nika Melia’s case was scheduled for today, but neither Melia nor the prosecution attended the session. The next hearing is scheduled for 30 May at 2:00 p.m. Earlier today, Melia himself stated that he does not intend to appear in court tomorrow.

Previously, Melia was summoned to testify before the Georgian parliament’s temporary investigative commission tasked with probing the actions of the previous government, but he failed to appear, after which charges were brought against him.

Tbilisi City Court imposed a bail condition of 50,000 lari as a preventive measure. Melia has said that he does not intend to pay the sum.

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On 22 May, opposition politician Zurab Japaridze was also taken into custody for failing to pay bail and refusing to appear before the investigative commission.

The prosecution requested a change in pre-trial measures after Japaridze declined to pay the 20,000 lari bail.

In addition, on 14 May, former Georgian Defence Minister (2004–2006) Irakli Okruashvili was sentenced to prison for failing to pay bail imposed for not attending the investigative commission. He was arrested in the courtroom. On 8 April, Okruashvili had been ordered to pay 20,000 lari in bail and was also banned from leaving the country.