Georgian police stormed the headquarters of the main opposition party in the early hours on Tuesday to arrest its chairman Nika Melia.
A Tbilisi court last week ruled to place Melia, who is accused of organizing “mass violence” during anti-government protests in 2019, in pre-trial detention.
Former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, who resigned last week over the court ruling to arrest Melia, said arresting the opposition leader could lead to further escalation of political crisis and threaten the well-being of the country’s citizens.
Supporters of the opposition parties spent the night at the United National Movement headquarters in a bid to prevent Melia's detention.
Police used tear gas as Melia's supporters attempted to barricade the door of the room where the opposition figure was sheltering. Dozens of opposition supporters were also arrested.
Euronews Georgia correspondent Davit Kekenadze, reporting from the capital, Tbilisi, said the new PM had warned that “justice will be served and Melia won’t be able to hide."
Police arrest Georgian opposition leader after storming party HQ
Nika Melia of UNM charged with inciting violence at 2019 anti-government demonstrations.
Georgian police have stormed the country’s opposition party headquarters and arrested their leader, escalating a political crisis in the former Soviet country that government critics say risks a descent into authoritarianism.
In a dramatic morning raid, riot police entered the headquarters of the United National Movement (UNM), using teargas and batons as they arrested its leader, Nika Melia, on criminal charges and detained at least a dozen others.
Footage broadcast on Georgian television showed Melia being dragged from the building. He is charged with inciting violence at 2019 anti-government demonstrations when protesters stormed parliament and faces nine years in prison. His supporters have said that the charges are politically motivated.
The crisis pits supporters of the UNM, the opposition party founded by the former president Mikheil Saakashvili, against the dominant Georgian Dream, the ruling party founded by the billionaire and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.
The raid deepened a crisis in Georgia that began after disputed parliamentary election results last year, which nominally ended in a resounding victory for Georgian Dream. UNM has boycotted the new parliament.
The decision to arrest Melia caused misgivings among government supporters. Giorgi Gakharia, a member of Georgian Dream, resigned as prime minister last week over a court decision to arrest Melia, saying it could lead to protests and harm the wellbeing of the country’s citizens.
In his place, Georgian Dream nominated Irakli Garibashvili, a former defence minister and ally of Ivanishvili, who quickly ordered the arrest of Melia at his party headquarters. After the raid, Garibashvili called Melia “an ordinary criminal” and asked: “When did the political party become a safe haven for such criminals?”
People attend a rally in support of the jailed opposition leader Nika Melia in front of Georgia’s government building in Tbilisi.
People attend a rally in support of the jailed opposition leader Nika Melia in front of Georgia’s government building in Tbilisi. Photograph: Zurab Kurtsikidze/EPA
The escalation has forced western countries to intervene – at least verbally – calling on both the opposition and the government to exercise restraint and avoid risking a political standoff that could descend into bloodshed.
Georgia, which fought a short war with Russia in 2008, is an important ally in the Caucasus region to the United States and the EU. The country has sought to join the Nato military alliance and has received billions of dollars of support for its military, democratic institutions and civil society.
“Shocked by the scenes at UNM headquarters this morning,” Mark Clayton, the UK ambassador to Tbilisi, wrote in a tweet. “Violence and chaos in Tbilisi are the last thing Georgia needs right now. I urge all sides to act with restraint, now and in the coming days.”
The US embassy had previously issued a “call on the authorities and the opposition to exercise maximum restraint in the wake of tonight’s ruling. Violence serves no one except those who want to undermine Georgia’s stability. This must be resolved peacefully.”
Georgian police officials defended Tuesday’s raid, saying they used “proportional force” against the opposition members.
A UNM leader told Agence France-Presse that police had also “stolen computer servers” from the party’s headquarters.
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