Nika Melia, the leader of Georgia s main opposition party United National Movement, has been released from prison, paving the way to end the political crisis in the country.
Waving Georgian and EU flags, hundreds of supporters greeted him as he left the penitentiary facility in the city of Rustavi, some 25 kilometres southeast of the capital Tbilisi. I want to wish liberation for all the political prisoners in Georgia, Melia told the crowd. We are facing a ruthless opponent, he said, referring to the ruling party. Unfortunately, I am not the last political prisoner in Georgia.
Melia, 41, was arrested in February 2021 after police stormed the headquarters of the main opposition party, sparking mass protests.
Georgia on Monday (10 May) released jailed opposition leader Nika Melia on bail posted by the European Union, in a move expected to defuse a political crisis in the Caucasus country.
The country in Europe’s extreme southeast has been gripped by crisis since last October’s parliamentary polls, which the opposition denounced as rigged.
The release of Melia the chairman of Georgia’s main opposition force, the United National Movement (UNM) was part of an agreement the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition leaders signed last month to end the crisis, under mediation from European Council President Charles Michel.
European Council President Charles Michel “took risks” during his recent visit to Georgia, and some in Brussels thought his actions were “mad”, according to an EU official familiar with the latest diplomatic action meant to reassert the EU’s ‘soft power’.
Georgia frees jailed opposition leader after EU posts bail
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10/05/2021 - 17:42 Nika Melia was arrested in February in a violent police raid on his party headquarters Vano Shlamov AFP/File 4 min
Tbilisi (AFP)
Georgia on Monday released jailed opposition leader Nika Melia on bail posted by the European Union, in a move expected to defuse a political crisis in the Caucasus country.
The country in Europe s extreme southeast has been gripped by crisis since last October s parliamentary polls, which the opposition denounced as rigged.
The release of Melia the chairman of Georgia s main opposition force, the United National Movement (UNM) was part of an agreement the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition leaders signed last month to end the crisis, under mediation from European Council President Charles Michel.
Court accepts UNM leader Melia’s release after EU posts bail
UNM leader Nika Melia is likely to leave prison in the coming hours. Photo: Nika Melia’s Facebook page. Agenda.ge, 10 May 2021 - 17:42, Tbilisi,Georgia
Tbilisi City Court has accepted the release of the head of the United National Movement Nika Melia after the European Union posted Melia’s 40,000 GEL bail on May 8, following the EU-mediated agreement between Georgian political parties in April.
After the completion of technical issues Melia will leave Rustavi prison where he has been in pretrial custody since February 23, 2021.
Melia is charged with incitement to violence during the June protests in Tbilisi back in 2019 which were sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament.
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