The European Court of Human Rights did not find a violation in the case of the former Chairman of the National Movement Nika Melia. Melia argued for violation of Articles 5 and 18 of the European Convention during his arrest on June 20, 2019, the so-called Gavrilov’s night.
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Article 5 – Right to liberty and security
Article 18 - Limitation on use of restrictions on rights
‘’With my imprisonment in 2021, the government achieved its goal, broke the boycott and legitimized the stolen elections. I did not receive amnesty in a case where I was innocent… the case has now been shelved, until it’s needed, that’s how Georgian Dream’s justice works’’ - is how Melia responded to Strasbourg Court’s ruling.
According to Rati Bregadze, Minister of Justice of Georgia, the Strasbourg court confirmed that Melia’s arrest and subsequent imprisonment as a punitive measure were legal and in full compliance with the standards of the European Convention. He added that the court unequivocally established that there were no political motives in Nikanor Melia’s arrest and did not share the arguments of the plaintiff.
The prosecutor’s office filed charges against Nika Melia for alleged leadership and participation in group violence in front of the parliament building on June 20-21, 2019.
Mass protests in Tbilisi followed the visit of the Communist Party Deputy of the Russian Duma, Sergei Gavrilov, who was supposed to conduct the session from the Chairman’s seat in Russian language. The authorities violently dispersed the protest, 240 people ended up in the hospital, 80 of whom were policemen. Two of the injured lost their eyes, including an 18-year-old girl. More than 30 journalists were injured.
On June 27, the court set Melia a bail of 30,000 GEL, and by the ruling of July 2, he was additionally tagged with an ankle bracelet. Melia paid the bail amount in full, however, he demonstratively ripped off the bracelet at a rally on November 1, 2020. For this, on the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, the court ordered him to pay additional bail in the amount of 40,000 GEL. Melia did not pay bail this time. On February 12, 2021, the Prosecutor's Office appealed to the Parliament and demanded the suspension of Parliamentary immunity for Melia. On February 16, the Parliament suspended Melia's immunity with 88 votes to 2, and the General Prosecutor was greenlit to apply to court for Nika Melia’s arrest. Melia was imprisoned on February 17.
On February 23, 2021, the Chairman of the National Movement was arrested in a special operation at the party’s office.
The opposition considered Melia a political prisoner. Melia claimed that they wanted to eliminate him from politics by arresting him.
Melia left prison on May 10, 2021, after almost 3-month imprisonment. The court replaced his prison sentence with bail only after the bail amount of 40,000 GEL was paid by the European Union. Melia's release was part of an agreement reached through EU mediation on April 19.
