Page 10 - GEORptMay21

2.5 Georgian court remands opposition leader Melia in custody
Following a hearing on April 13, Tbilisi City Court remanded United National Movement (UNM) chairman Nika Melia, facing charges for a June 20-21, 2019 protest at the parliament, in custody. Melia was refused bail. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for April 29.
The opposition parties, which have been demanding the release of Melia for around two months, stated earlier that the government "is not willing to ease the current political tension" and that Melia "remains a political prisoner." Melia was released on a GEL30,000 ($10,000) bail on June 27, 2020.
However, he violated the conditions of his bail by publicly removing his surveillance bracelet and GEL40,000 was added to his bail in November 2020. Melia refused to pay the GEL40,000 within 50 days of sentencing and on February 5, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office warned him of the possibility of his bail conditions being reversed to detention.
On February 16, the parliament suspended the MP status of Melia and allowed the country’s Prosecutor’s Office to request his arrest by the court.
On February 17, Tbilisi City Court ruled that Melia be remanded into custody for failure to post bail.
On February 18, Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia resigned because, he said, he had "failed to make an agreement with the ruling Georgian Georgian Dream party over the arrest of Melia".
Georgia has just had its fifth change of prime minister since Georgian Dream (GD) came to power in 2012. Irakli Garibashvili, who previously held the position from 2013 to 2015, is back.
Giorgi Gakharia, who resigned on February 18, could not even make it to the year-and-a-half mark. Based on this experience, another change should not be a big deal.
However, this one is different. Gakharia was the first to resign on a specific political issue and in a very dramatic moment. He announced his decision when the government was trying to arrest Nika Melia, the chairman of the strongest opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM).
2.6 Georgia/CEE reels as third wave of COVID-19 breaks
Central and Eastern Europe, already reeling from the impact of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, is now facing a third wave this spring that could claim many more victims, crash health systems and cause lasting economic damage.
Central Europe, the Baltic states and the Balkans now comprise one of the worst affected regions in the world. During the Easter holiday, as the UK begins to relax lockdown measures, having vaccinated more than half its population, the region is still in tight lockdown, with most countries having immunised less than a fifth of their citizens.
10 GEORGIA Country Report May 2021 www.intellinews.com