Tbilisi court fines opposition leader Melia ₾5,000

Tbilisi City Court has found Coalition for Change leader Nika Melia guilty of an administrative offense and fined him ₾5,000 in connection with his May 25 detention near Lisi Lake in capital Tbilisi. 

During the hearing on Monday, two police officers testified as witnesses, both claiming that Melia had verbally insulted them while they were performing their official duties.

According to Melia’s lawyer, Giorgi Kondakhishvili, the testimonies given in court were contradictory and lacked credibility.

“Everything, including justice, is distorted today. About five months ago, Nika Melia was effectively abducted. For months, we tried to obtain even a single document related to the case but received nothing. The court ignored all arguments and relied on two police witnesses who repeated memorized statements, claiming Melia called them ‘slaves’ from a moving car. It’s absurd,” Kondakhishvili told reporters.

He added that Melia’s arrest was politically motivated, timed a day before his scheduled verdict in another case.

“The authorities didn’t want any reaction to his verdict, so they arrested him in advance under a fabricated pretext. The case was shelved for five months, and despite the witnesses’ confusion and contradictions, the court still imposed a ₾5,000 fine,” Kondakhishvili said.