Swedish Foreign Minister expresses concern over opposition arrests in Georgia

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard has voiced her concern about the recent detention of Georgian opposition leaders Nika Melia and Zurab Japaridze.

In a statement posted on social media platform X, Stenergard said:

"I am worried by the detentions of opposition leaders Nika Melia and Zurab Japaridze in Georgia. Sweden maintains its strong support for Georgian civil society and the European aspirations of a vast majority of the Georgian people."

Melia, leader of the Coalition for Change, and Japaridze, leader of Girchi — More Freedom, were detained on separate occasions in what opposition figures describe as politically motivated arrests. They face legal proceedings for failing to appear before a parliamentary commission investigating past crimes under the previous United National Movement government, for which bail had been imposed and both leaders refused to pay it.

The Georgian government, led by the ruling Georgian Dream party, has defended the arrests as legal, citing alleged violations of bail and parliamentary investigative procedures. However, civil society groups argue that the detentions are part of a broader campaign to silence dissent and suppress opposition voices.