Georgian Parliament allows Prosecutor’s Office to go ahead with the arrest of MP Nika Melia
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Thursday, June 27
Nika Melia has lost the MP immunity, which means that the Prosecutor’s office will now be able to arrest the member of the United National Movement (UNM). The decision was made with 91 votes, with 0 opponents. The sitting was not attended by the member of UNM and European Georgia, as requested by Melia.
According to the report of the Prosecutor’s Office, within the investigation, the elements of the offence under the Criminal Code of Georgia were identified in the acts of Nikanor Melia, the member of the Parliament of Georgia on the night of June 20-21 during protests in front of the Parliament.
At yesterday’s sitting at the Parliament, the majority supported the appeal of the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia regarding the detention of Nika Melia. After the joint decision of Legal Issues and Procedural Issues and Rules Committees, the Bureau of Parliament supported the case to be discussed on the plenary session.
Melia decided to attend the sitting alone, without his colleague members of the opposition. In his address, he noted that he is “on the right side of the history.” As Melia said, he is glad that he will have something to tell his children with pride, while they [members of the ruling party] “will have very few things to tell to your children and grandchildren, especially if you take into account the day when you let our enemy sit at the place of the Chairperson.”
On the other hand, Member of the Parliament majority, Mamuka Mdinaradze said that not attending the sitting was “another political move by the UNM.” According to Mdinaradze, members of UNM could have attended the sitting to show their arguments, but instead, they decided to “talk with political messages.”
After the decision was made, Melia told the media that he would go to “Ivanishvili’s prison to come out in free Georgia.” According to him, the 91 people who voted at the session are in captivity, and “we should help them set free.”
As Prosecutor’s Office says, they have extensive video footage on Nika Melia’s case. Head of the Prosecutorial Oversight Division, Amiran Guluashvili talked about this evidence in the Parliament.
“We have a huge amount of video footage. These were present on social networks and published by the media outlets,” noted Guluashvili.
Along with the video recordings, according to the UNM, there is a total of 6 witnesses, 4 of which are employees of State Security Services and two are activists of Georgian Dream party.
Supporters of Melia gathered near the Parliament to protest the decision made at the sitting, as they say, “they are not planning to stop the protests.” After leaving the building of the Parliament, Melia joined the protesters and thanked them for their support. He urged the protesters not to allow the Minister of Internal Affairs, Giorgi Gakharia to enter the Parliament of Georgia on June 28, but to do it within the framework of the Constitution, in a peaceful manner.
On June 21, a briefing was held at the Ministry of Internal Affairs where it was said that Nika Melia, Gigi Ugulava and Irakli Okruashvili, members of the opposition, were called for questioning on the alleged group violence. The case concerns the June 20-21 protests.
On the night of June 20, the police used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters several times in front of the building of the Georgian Parliament, after the protesters, with the leaders of the opposition, including Melia, allegedly tried to “peacefully” take over the Parliament.
The protests were held on Rustaveli Avenue after the member of the Russian Duma Communist Party Sergei Gavrilov addressed the members of the Orthodox Parliamentary Assembly from the place of the Chairperson of the Parliament.
