Irakli Garibashvili, the candidate for the post of Prime Minister of Georgia, at the sitting of the “Georgian Dream” faction talked about the Chairman of the United National Movement Nika Melia, saying that “the law must be enforced.”
“Melia is a criminal because the court found him criminal in the Cartu Bank case. I would like to remind everyone that Alibi cannot be being the chairman of a political party … This criminal has been declared the chairman of the party and we are told that he is guilty of the heinous crime he committed. I mean the assault on the parliament and the attempt to overthrow the government and, yet, they keep telling us not to touch Mr. Melia … When did the political party become a haven for such criminals … The truth is very simple, one thing everyone should remember – neither a political party nor holding any important position will not be a haven for their crimes. If they openly say that this party is a haven for criminals and terrorists, then this is another confession. So my answer is simple, the law must be obeyed,” Garibashvili said.
City Court sentenced Melia to imprisonment on February 17. He is accused of June 20-21, 2019, the so-called Gavrilov’s night on the case of attempted intrusion into the parliament building during the anti-occupation protest rally in front of the parliament, under the article of leading and participating in group violence.
Following the court ruling in the case of Nika Melia, the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia, resigned due to differences of opinion within the team on the issue, while the Ministry of Internal Affairs temporarily postponed the execution of the court ruling due to the resignation of the Prime Minister.
Following the decision to arrest Melia, the opposition spoke of the need for early elections, while international partners advocated for dialogue in light of the deepening political crisis. Georgian Dream has nominated Irakli Garibashvili as a candidate for the post of Prime Minister.
