The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament responds to the decision of the Strasbourg Court regarding the case of Nika Melia.

“Justice, even if slow, is sure.

ECHR’s latest judgement has made it exceedingly clear that UNM’s former token chairman Melia’s arrest in February 2021 was both legal and legitimate. In particular, ECHR ruled that there has been no violation of the articles of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and Melia’s arrest was legal and contained no signs of political motivation whatsoever.

This clear judgement is yet another victory for the reputation of Georgia’s judicial system, whose decisions, in the last few cases, have been endorsed by successive ECHR rulings.

The judgement also showed that some of our partners’ harsh criticism of Melia’s arrest was hasty and short-sighted. This unfounded criticism, unfortunately, contributed to the cycle of self-perpetuating wave of never-ending misperceptions about Georgia.

And, finally, such premature judgements from some of our partners further deepen political polarization in Georgia as well as harms our prospects of European and Euro-Atlantic integration because such statements encourage the radicals in the opposition, like Melia, to further radicalize, causing even more damaging polarization.

A vicious circle should be broken whereas some foreign politicians criticize Georgian government on false grounds, thus creating misperceptions; and, then, these mistaken and politically biased statements worsen polarization, leading to a more difficult political climate. Breaking this vicious circle is the responsibility of our partners who should be more scrupulous, conscientious and, ultimately, accountable for their words and deeds”, - writes Shalva Papuashvili on Twitter.