Nika Melia Charged After Refusing to Appear Before Investigative Commission
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Nika Melia, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, was officially charged after failing to comply with a request from the Georgian Parliament's Temporary Investigative Commission.
Speaking before the session, Melia stated, "All active people who have been involved in the peaceful struggle against the Georgian Dream regime in recent years have their paths from time to time passing through the so-called prosecutor's office, courts and prison cells - everything they do is absurd and illegal. I think we will meet in another building in a few hours."
He also said that the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, is being forced to intensify repression. "Ivanishvili understands that a semi-democratic system, or a semi-autocratic regime, is very dangerous for him, because he may incur the wrath of the people to the point of losing power, so he is forced to increase repression. The more repressive steps Ivanishvili takes, no matter how pessimistic the people may be about the change of Ivanishvili's government, this regime will change. A citizen of Georgia cannot become a citizen of Soviet Georgia," Melia said.
Melia was summoned to provide explanations at a commission session but failed to appear. His absence triggered charges under Article 349 of the Criminal Code, which addresses failure to comply with a request from the Temporary Investigative Commission of Parliament. The offense is punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or disqualification from holding a position or engaging in an activity for up to three years.
