Latest news with #NikaMelia
BBC News
19 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Georgia jails six political figures in one week in crackdown on opposition
Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia has become the latest opposition figure to be sent to jail this week in a crackdown described by observers as an unprecedented attack on the country's South Caucausus state has seen months of political turmoil since the government halted its path to join the EU in the wake of disputed prominent politicians have been given jail terms, and another two are in pre-trial detention, so that most of the leaders of the pro-Western opposition are now behind Friday, Nika Melia, one of the leaders of Coalition for Change, was jailed for eight months by a court in Tbilisi and former opposition MP Givi Targamadze was given seven months. The scale and speed of the crackdown has come as a shock, and Nika Melia accused the government of trying to break the courage of Georgians. All of the jailed politicians have been convicted of refusing to testify before a parliamentary commission and barred from holding public office for two years. In what it called "the most severe democratic collapse in Georgia's post-Soviet history", anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said the governing Georgian Dream party, led by billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, had launched "a full-scale authoritarian offensive".In a matter of days, jail terms have also been handed down to four other opposition leaders: Giorgi Vashadze, Zurab Japaridze, Badri Japaridze and Mamuka Khazaradze. Another prominent opposition leader, Nika Gvaramia, is in pre-trial detention as well as a former defence minister."The Soviet Union has returned to our present and wants our minds to cling to the past," Nika Melia wrote on Facebook. Georgia regained its independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in said this week that the arrest of opposition leaders was an "unprecedented attack on Georgia's democracy" and it called for an end to "repressive actions". After last October's elections, the opposition accused Ivanishvili's party of stealing the vote. Opposition parties then boycotted parliament and, when the European Parliament denounced the election as neither free nor fair, the ruling party halted Georgia's bid to join the European have since protested in central Tbilisi every night for more than 200 nights, demanding new elections and the release of all prisoners arrested during pro-EU government then set up an investigative parliamentary commission into the "alleged crimes" of the previous government before Georgian Dream came to power in 2012, specifically the period covering Georgia's war with Russia in 2008. Failing to comply with a "lawful request" by a parliamentary commission is a criminal offence under Georgia's criminal code. Opposition politicians have refused to testify, partly because of their boycott of parliament, but also because they reject it as a politically motivated attack on government critics. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told parliament on Friday that the commission was doing very important work exposing a previous government that was "entirely built on crime"."Everyone must understand once and for all that there is no place for criminals in Georgian politics."Human rights groups say 500 people have been arrested during the recent street protests and that 300 of them were subjected to torture. As many as 60 people are being held as political prisoners, they journalist Mzia Amaglobeli remains imprisoned, and independent TV stations face censorship and financial ruin. Earlier this week 40 civil society groups said that Bidzina Ivanishvili had "chosen to maintain power through dictatorship, and fundamental human rights are violated every day".Ivanishvili, who is under US sanctions, accumulated his wealth in Russia during the 1990s. He formally retired from politics but is widely believed to have control over all branches of month, a former confidant of Ivanishvili who went on the run said he was "kidnapped from abroad" and flown back to Georgia by force as a political Bachiashvili had been on trial in Georgia accused of misappropriating millions of dollars in a case he said was politically authorities say Bachiashvili, 39, was convicted of a crime while in absentia and will serve his jail lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, told the BBC he was deeply concerned for his safety: "Too many people see him as a highly competent political figure."
Civil.ge
a day ago
- Politics
- Civil.ge
Nika Melia Sentenced to Eight Months for Defying Tsulukiani Commission
Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Galustashvili sentenced on June 27 Nika Melia, leader of the opposition Ahali party, to eight months in prison for refusing to appear before the Tsulukiani Commission — a Georgian Dream parliament's temporary investigative body tasked with probing alleged crimes committed by former officials. Melia joins Givi Targamadze and four other opposition politicians, Giorgi Vashadze, Badri Japaridze, Mamuka Khazaradze, and Zurab Japaridze, who have already been sentenced to months in prison in similar cases. Another opposition leader, Nika Gvaramia, and Former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, both in pretrial detention after rejecting court-imposed bail, await similar verdicts. All have also been stripped of their right to hold office for two years. In Melia's case, Judge Galustashvili additionally fined him GEL 25,000 (about USD 9,100), upholding a 2019 Tbilisi City Court decision in the Cartu Bank bankruptcy case, where Melia was found guilty of abuse of power. He has not paid the fine since. Nika Melia, who has been in pretrial detention after refusing to pay court-imposed bail in the Tsulukiani Commission's non-compliance case, did not attend the announcement of the final verdict. He also faces charges in a separate criminal case for contempt of court over a May 30 incident at Tbilisi City Court, where his pretrial detention was ordered following his controversial arrest the day before. In protest of Judge Irakli Shvangiradze's apparent disregard of what Melia called his 'abduction,' Melia splashed water on the judge. The Prosecutor's Office says Nika Melia insulted the judge. Melia faces up to two years in prison in this case. Dozens of international partners have condemned the prison sentences against the opposition figures, describing them as acts of political persecution and accusing the ruling Georgian Dream government of attempting to consolidate power. Nika Melia did not hold any political office under the UNM from 2003 to 2012. He served as a UNM lawmaker from 2016 to 2021. In late 2023, he quit UNM and, together with Nika Gvaramia, founded the Ahali party in 2024 ahead of the parliamentary elections. The Georgian Dream parliament's temporary investigative commission , chaired by GD veteran and former justice and culture minister Tea Tsulukiani, is tasked with probing alleged crimes committed by former officials. The commission has summoned alleged victims, former UNM government members, as well as the current opposition leaders, most of whom have refused to appear, considering the one-party parliament illegitimate. Former Georgian Dream Interior Minister and Prime Minister, now opposition For Georgia party leader Giorgi Gakharia, is the only exception who agreed to testify before the commission. He maintained that his compliance did not amount to recognizing the Georgian Dream parliament, which his party continues to boycott. Gakharia was recently summoned again over the Chorchana episode, which the Prosecutor's Office is investigating under 'sabotage' charges. Gakharia offered to appear online, citing a visit abroad. The commission declined a remote hearing and scheduled an in-person session for July 2, but Gakharia's party says he will still be abroad on that date. Two others – Nika Gvaramia and Mamuka Khazaradze – who previously refused to appear, were also resummoned. Both vowed to continue boycotting the GD commission from behind bars. Chair Tea Tsulukiani suggested the commission will likely ask the Prosecutor's Office again to investigate their renewed non-compliance. 'If Gvaramia or Khazaradze does not join the commission remotely from their cells, it will not be surprising to anyone that we will probably have to send their second case of non-appearance to the Prosecutor's Office,' Tsulukiani said in a June 23 interview with the pro-government channel Rustavi 2. Under Georgian law, failing to comply with a temporary parliamentary investigative commission is a criminal offense punishable by up to one year in prison or a fine, along with a ban on holding public office for up to three years. So far, however, courts have imposed only prison sentences, with no fines issued. The commission is addressing topics including alleged torture, business racketeering, and the August 2008 war, which it blames on the former UNM government and ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili. On June 25, the Georgian Dream Parliament extended the Tsulukiani Commission's term by one more month, until August 5. Georgian Dream said the commission's final report will be submitted to the country's Constitutional Court to ban the UNM and its 'successor parties.' GD says it plans to ban the opposition by the end of the year. Also Read:
Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Georgia tightens screws on opposition, jails more leaders
TBILISI: Georgia jailed two prominent opposition figures on Friday, the latest in a string of sentences that critics condemn as a crackdown on dissent that puts nearly all opposition leaders behind bars. Georgia has faced political unrest since the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in October's parliamentary elections. The opposition rejected the results, triggering mass protests that escalated after the government suspended negotiations on joining the European Union. Protesters accuse the ruling party of drifting toward authoritarianism and aligning the country with Moscow — allegations the government denies. Opposition figures and rights activists are being targeted in a wave of arrests and prosecutions. On Friday, a Tbilisi court ordered Nika Melia — the co-leader of the key opposition Akhali party — to be jailed for eight months. Another prominent opposition politician, Givi Targamadze, was sentenced to seven months in prison. The two were also barred from holding public office for two years. They were convicted of failing to cooperate with a divisive parliamentary enquiry probing alleged abuses under jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. Saakashvili, a pro-Western reformer, is serving a 12.5-year sentence on charges widely condemned by rights groups as politically motivated. Melia has been in pre-trial detention since late May. Targamadze, a member of Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM), said he believed his sentence was 'a Russian order.' In 2016, he survived a bomb attack when his car exploded in central Tbilisi just days before parliamentary elections. Nearly all of Georgia's opposition leaders have been jailed this month on charges similar to those levelled at Melia and Targamadze. They have dismissed the parliamentary commission as illegitimate and accused Georgian Dream of using it to silence dissent. Ahead of last year's elections, Georgian Dream announced plans to outlaw all major opposition parties.
Reuters
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Georgia jails third opposition leader as crackdown expands
TBILISI, June 13 (Reuters) - Georgian opposition politician Nika Gvaramia was placed in pre-trial detention on Friday for up to nine months, the latest of several prominent government critics to be jailed. Having weathered mass demonstrations over a disputed October election and a subsequent decision to halt talks on joining the European Union, Georgian authorities have moved to clamp down on leading figures of the protest movement. Gvaramia had refused to testify to a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoing under jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who was in power from 2004 to 2012. If convicted of failing to comply with the commission, he could be jailed for up to one year. Gvaramia is a leader of the pro-Western Coalition for Change bloc which came second in the October election that the opposition rejected as fraudulent. The government rejected the allegation, but two U.S. polling organisations said there was evidence of manipulation. Gvaramia did not attend his court hearing, instead reporting to prison before the verdict was announced, in what his party said was an effort to show the decision was pre-determined by a biased court. In a post on Facebook, he wrote: "Not one step back! Our homeland is behind us! The oligarchy must fall! Glory to Georgia!" Two other Coalition for Change leaders, Zurab Japaridze and Nika Melia, are already in jail on similar charges. A media entrepreneur who served under Saakashvili in a series of ministerial roles, Gvaramia was previously imprisoned for abuse of office from 2022 to 2023, in a case Western countries said was politically motivated. Traditionally one of the Soviet Union's most pro-Western and democratic successor states, Georgia has moved in a sharply authoritarian direction in the past two years, with the ruling Georgian Dream party passing a series of laws critics have described as draconian. Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire ex-prime minister widely seen as the country's most powerful man, has repeatedly pledged to ban opposition parties, whilst also presiding over warming ties with Russia and souring relations with the West. Earlier this week, authorities issued court summons to over a dozen activists, journalists and opposition politicians on charges of insulting ruling party lawmakers. On Thursday, a court jailed a 21-year-old protester for four and a half years for assaulting police, in a case government critics have said is fabricated.
Washington Post
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Georgia detains second opposition leader within days as ruling party faces more protests
TBILISI, Georgia — Georgian police on Friday detained a second opposition leader within days as protests continue in the South Caucasus country against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Lawyers for Nika Melia, one of the figureheads for Georgia's pro-Western Coalition for Change, said his car was stopped by police on Thursday. Soon after, he was bundled away by a large group of people in civilian clothing.
