International community concerned over the arrest of opposition leader Melia, protests break out
By Veronika Malinboym
Wednesday, February 24
On February 23, at 8.50 the chairman of the opposition United National Movement party Nika Melia was arrested during the special ops storming of the partys headquarters. Melias supporters resisted the SWATs entering the building, who then broke in through windows. During the operation, which lasted for about half an hour, tear gas was released in the building, and the partys property was severely damaged.
Newly appointed PM Irakli Gharibashvili responded to Melias arrest by saying that the government and law enforcements actions were completely in line with the democratic standards and applauded the police efforts, adding that he is proud of them. He noted that Melia has been found guilty in the Cartu case and in the case of inciting violence during the 2019 protests as he was encouraging people to break into the parli