The Prosecutor's Office has filed another criminal charge against opposition politician and one of the leaders of the Coalition For Change, Nika Melia, for contempt of court. He is accused of insulting Judge Irakli Shvangiradze.
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"On May 30, at a pre-trial hearing held in the Tbilisi City Courtroom, the accused Nikanor Melia committed contempt of court, which was expressed by insulting the presiding judge. Specifically, Nikanor Melia threw water at Judge Irakli Shvangiradze, and after being expelled from the courtroom, he verbally insulted him," the Prosecutor's Office stated.
Melia has been charged under Article 366, Part 2 of the Criminal Code, which carries a penalty of up to 2 years of imprisonment.
The Prosecutor's Office is also requesting Melia's pre-trial detention in this case. Melia is already in custody.
He was granted bail for non-appearance before the so-called Georgian Dream Parliamentary Investigative Commission, which he did not pay. The court was scheduled to deliberate on changing his pre-trial measure on May 30.
Melia was arrested the previous day under Article 173 of the Administrative Offenses Code, allegedly for insulting police officers. At the court hearing the following day, Nika Melia spoke about the details of his arrest:
"At 9 PM, we were traveling in two cars near Lisi Lake. I was on my way to participate in a podcast. It was only two kilometers from the place where I was abducted, not arrested.
Suddenly, a so-called patrol car stopped us. A nervous person in a patrol uniform asked the driver for his license, and it was clear from his expression that he was interested in everything but the license. While the driver hadn't even handed over his license, a question was heard on his so-called radio, which both I and the driver understood. Apparently, his supervisor asked if 'the object' was in the car. It was clear what was happening.
There were 11 people in the minibus in front, where I was forcibly placed, to put it mildly. I counted, including the driver, there were 11 who abducted me. There was no sign that they were police officers, neither in their appearance nor in their manner of speaking. When you arrest someone, you should explain it and ask them to get out of the car. What happened was an abduction and a very aggressive use of force to shove me into the car. After that, they forcibly took my mobile phone. One of them had an uncontrollable desire to somehow unlock my mobile phone, and he tried several times to point the phone at my face, but in that darkness, it couldn't happen. You should know that this was a special van, where nothing could be seen from the inside out.
I had until midnight to pay bail – but I was abducted at 9 PM. You don't have a single question about what happened, and now you're asking why I haven't paid that unjust bail. Clearly, you're not interested in who abducted me," Melia addressed Judge Irakli Shvangiradze and threw water at him.
Leaders of the Coalition for Change, Zurab Japaridze and Nika Gvaramia, as well as former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili, have also been imprisoned for failing to appear before the so-called Georgian Dream Parliamentary Investigative Commission.
