Georgian court sentences opposition leader to 1.5 years

Georgia’s court has sentenced “Ahali” party leader Nika Melia to one year and six months in prison for throwing water at a judge.

The incident occurred on May 30 during proceedings related to a criminal case against Melia for failing to attend a parliamentary temporary investigative commission hearing on the activities of the Saakashvili regime from 2003 to 2012, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

After this incident, the opposition politician was charged under Article 366 of the Georgian Criminal Code (contempt of court, manifested in insulting a judge), which carries a sentence of up to 2 years in prison.

Melia is one of four politicians (alongside Irakli Okruashvili, Zurab Japaridze, and Nika Gvaramia) detained in connection with the case concerning their failure to appear before a parliamentary commission led by Georgian Dream parliament member Tea Tsulukiani.

By Jeyhun Aghazada