Nika Melia to remain in custody, as per the decision of the Tbilisi City Court

The leader of the opposition United National Movement party, Nika Melia, was refused bail earlier today, as per the decision of Judge Nino Chakhnashvili of the Tbilisi City Court.

During the court hearing on April 13, Nika Melia made a number of statements, including the one which led Judge Chakhnashvili to dismiss Nika Melia from the courtroom due to him calling her a “slave [of the regime”. Melia stated that conditions required to let him get out of the custody are “unacceptable and humiliating”:

“If I were released today, wouldn’t it demonstrate publicly to the foreign partners, that Ivanishvili’s allies let their political opponent walk free based on a political decision?!” Melia noted in response to the ruling of the Tbilisi City Court, according to which, he will remain in custody.

Leader of the United National Movement added that in case of him being released today, representatives of the ruling party would not have been able to say that they compromised on his case, and now it is time for the opposition to make compromises in return:

“Thus, any conditions that are now being offered in exchange for my freedom are both unacceptable and humiliating for me”, Melia added.

Melia was arrested earlier this year, on February 23, in a special operation carried out by the SWAT team at the headquarters of the United National Movement. His arrest has led to series of rallies, in which the country’s opposition bloc referred to Melia as being a political prisoner and demanded his immediate arrest. The release of Nika Melia has been discussed as part of the agenda of the several rounds of EU-mediated negotiations between the ruling government and the opposition bloc, however, no concrete agreements have yet been made.

Nika Melia was charged with violating the conditions of his bail, as he both took off the electronic tracking bracelet and refused to post a bail of ?40,000 within 50 weeks of the sentencing. On February 16, Georgian Parliament suspended Melia’s MP status and MP immunity and allowed the Prosecutor’s Office to request his arrest. On February 17, Tbilisi City Court satisfied the request of the Prosecutor’s Office and ruled in favor of Melia’s arrest.