Parliament suspends immunity for UNM Chairman Melia
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Wednesday, February 17
Georgian Parliament supported the suspension of Nika Melias’s immunity at the session of 16th of February with 88 votes for and 2 - against. Accordingly, the Parliament allows the Prosecutor General’s Office to impose a detention measure on Chairman of the United National Movement (UNM) Nika Melia, and it is the prerogative of the court to make a decision about it.
On February 12, the Prosecutor's Office applied to the Parliament for consent as a measure of restraint against Nika Melia - to apply to the court for detention.
This is the second time the state legislature has fulfilled the Prosecutor’s Office's request to suspend the MP status of Melia. He is charged in the June 20 case under the article of leadership and participation in gang violence. He had bail as a preventive measure and electronic monitoring was also instituted. The opposition leader was also banned from crossing the state border without the prior consent of the Prosecutor’s Office.
Melia paid the bail for the first time. However, on November 1, an electronic bracelet was demonstratively removed in protest. Because he thus violated the terms of the restraining order applied to him, the prosecution appealed to the court to tighten the restraining order.
The court tightened the bail and it was increased from GEL 40 000 to GEL 70 000. The deadline for payment of the increased amount of bail was set at 50 days. Melia refused to pay this bail.
Accordingly, the prosecution stated on February 12 that under the law it has an obligation to apply to the court this time for a more severe measure of restraint - detention. Now the Prosecutor’s Office will appeal to the court to allow Melia’s arrest.
If Melia, or somebody on his behalf, pays the bail before the court allows his arrest, Melia will not be arrested. However he says that charging him with violence in the case of June protests was ‘absurd and illegitimate’, he has already paid the bail once and isn’t going to do that again.
Note, that Melia, along with 50 other opposition MPs, is demanding repeat parliamentary elections and has refused to take up his mandate in the 10th convocation of the Georgian parliament in protest.
However, the parliament did not vote for the suspension of MP status for opposition MPs earlier this month.
Prior to voting, Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria had urged MPs not to dismiss Melia and called on the Prosecutor’s Office to reconsider its decision on the arrest. On the other hand, ruling Georgian Dream party members say that everyone is equal before the law, and Melia "must not be an exception."
Most of the opposition parties consider the process politicized and fully support the newly elected UNM Chairman. On February 15, at the opposition meeting in the Labor Party Office, the majority of the opposition announced that they are ready even for physical resistance and warned that in case of arrest, the government will have to pay a high price.
