European Union pays bail for Nika Melia
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, May 10
The General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia has made a special statement regarding Nika Melia's case. According to the office, the proposal is still valid and once the payment is received, they will apply to the Court to change the measure of Melia’s restraint.
The agency added that they would apply to the Court to change the measure of restraint after the amount allocated for the bail is reflected in the relevant account, or the document of transfer of the amount to the relevant account is submitted.
Regarding this, the Young Lawyers' Association stated that a document confirming the payment of bail has already been sent to the agency. According to the EU delegation to Georgia, a bail of GEL40,000 was paid on May 8 to release Melia. This payment followed the agreement made by the political parties with the mediation of the European Union on April 19, 2021.
The European Union thanked two independent organizations that have agreed to provide significant support in this process. These organizations are the European Endowment for Democracy, which allocated the funds that were paid through the Georgian Young Lawyer's Association.
In particular, through GYLA's account, the money was transferred to the account of the Tbilisi Enforcement Bureau on May 8, at about 3 p.m.
European Parliament member Viola von Cramon responded to the payment of GEL40,000 bail for Nika Melia on Twitter. “Great! And good to see that all partners kept their promises - the EU included. The next step will be that Mr. Melia will leave prison very soon. This should then pave the way towards a regular parliamentary work for everyone in Georgia,” wrote Cramon.
Nika Melia is accused of attempting to break into the parliament building on June 20-21, 2019, during an anti-occupation protest rally. He was charged with the article on the leadership of gang violence and participation in it.
On June 27, 2019, Melia was sentenced to electronic monitoring and a bail of GEL30,000, which he paid, as a measure of restraint. On November 1, 2020, at a protest rally in front of the parliament, Melia publicly removed his electronic monitoring bracelet.
Afterward, Tbilisi City Court increased the bail by GEL40,000, and Melia was given 50 days to pay it, which Melia didn’t. As a result, the Court sent Melia to pre-trial detention.
After the EU-mediated agreement, it was agreed that Melia, as well as Giorgi Rurua, would leave prison.
