Georgia detains second opposition leader within days as ruling party faces more protests
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TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — 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.
According to Georgia’s interior ministry, Melia has been detained on charges of verbally insulting a law enforcement officer.
The arrest came a week after that of Zurab Japaridze, another leader of the pro-Western, liberal coalition of parties that support European Union integration and want a restoration of democratic standards.
Japaridze, who heads the Girchi – More Freedom party, was detained on May 22 after refusing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating alleged wrongdoings by the government of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili.
Opposition politicians have declined to attend the commission hearings, saying they are politically motivated by Georgian Dream to damage the opposition, particularly Saakashvili’s United National Movement party.
Melia, of the Ahali party and former chairman of Saakashvili’s United National Movement party, was detained on the eve of a scheduled court hearing for failing to testify.
Japaridze and seven other opposition politicians, not including Melia, who did not attend the commission are expected to appear before a court in coming days. If found guilty of failing to comply with a parliamentary investigative commission, they face up to a year in prison.
Meanwhile, demonstrators have continued to gather in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, demanding new elections and the release of dissidents. Nightly protests there began on Nov. 28, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze halted the country’s EU integration process.
Georgia has seen widespread political unrest since the country’s last parliamentary election on Oct. 26, which was won by Georgian Dream. Protestors and the country’s opposition declared the result as illegitimate amid allegations of vote-rigging helped by Russia, sparking weeks of protests across the country.
At the time, opposition leaders vowed to boycott sessions of parliament until a new parliamentary election was held under international supervision and alleged ballot irregularities were investigated.
Georgian Dream has seen widespread condemnation by European leaders and international rights groups over its rough handling of protestors and perceived democratic backsliding.