Opposition leader Melia sentenced to eight months in prison amid controversial parliamentary inquiry

Georgian opposition politician Nika Melia, co-founder of the Ahali party, has been sentenced to eight months in prison for refusing to appear before a parliamentary investigation commission whose legitimacy has been widely questioned by opposition groups.

The commission, chaired by former Justice and Culture Minister Thea Tsulukiani, is tasked with investigating alleged crimes committed under the previous government. Melia, who did not hold political office prior to 2012 and was not affiliated with any political party during that period, has criticised the commission’s mandate as politically motivated.

The verdict was delivered by Judge Nino Galustashvili of the Tbilisi City Court. In addition to the prison term, Melia was banned from holding political office for two years and fined 25,000 GEL for failing to comply with a separate, unenforced 2019 court ruling.

Melia, who was already in pretrial detention in the case, was arrested a day before his bail was set to expire. According to his legal team, several police vehicles intercepted him while he was en route to record an episode of podcast Between Two Fires. Melia has described the arrest as a “kidnapping”.