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.
Opposition parties and their supporters have blocked off central Rustaveli Avenue earlier today, following the recent arrest of the head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia.Melia, who is charged with incitement to violence during the June protests in Tbilisi back in 2019, has been arrested for refusal to post bail.
Former opposition MP and the head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia has been arrested by police earlier today for refusal to post bail shortly after the parliament approved Irakli Garibashvili prime minister and his cabinet late yesterday. Melia was arrested in his office in the UNM headquarters in Tbilisi by special unit servicemen. Police allegedly used pepper spray in the room.
The new chair of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia may be sent to pretrial detention for refusing to pay 40,000 GEL bail, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office said earlier today.
Opposition United National Movement party member Nika Melia, who is charged with incitement to violence during the recent Tbilisi protests, will have to wear an electronic bracelet to be monitored, as the Court of Appeals did not change the decision of Tbilisi City Court earlier today and accepted Melia’s release on bail.
The United National Movement MP Nika Melia, who stands charged with incitement to violence during the June 20 rally in Tbilisi, has been released on 30,000 GEL [$10,000] bail.
The Georgian parliament has voted to suspend MP immunity for United National Movement opposition MP Nika Melia, upholding yesterday's request from the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office yesterday to detain the legislator for possible incitement to violence during the June 20 rally in Tbilisi.
A member of the United National Movement parliamentary opposition, MP Nika Melia has been charged with organising violence by a group, heading the group and participation in the violence during the June 20-21 rallies in Tbilisi, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office says.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said today’s ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, which confirming the legitimacy of the 2019 arrest and detention of opposition leader Nika Melia, was “yet another victory” for the reputation of the country’s judicial system.