Georgian politician Nika Melia, one of the leaders of the opposition Coalition for Change group, has been jailed for eight months for his failure to testify before a parliamentary commission tasked with investigating members of the former-ruling United National Movement (UNM) government, the opposition group said on social media. Givi Targamadze, a former UNM lawmaker who is now retired from politics, received a prison sentence of seven months under the same charges. Both have also been banned from holding public office for two years. 

Targamadze and Melia are the fifth and six opposition leaders to be jailed for defying the summons of the parliament commission. Their verdicts come amid the ruling Georgia Dream party’s ongoing crackdown on their political opponents, which has placed the majority of Georgia’s pro-Western opposition leaders in jail and sparked a huge international backlash.

On June 23, Zurab Japaridze of Coalition for Change and Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze of the Strong Georgia bloc received similar sentences, followed by Giorgi Vashadze of the Untiy-UNM coalition who was jailed on June 24.

Two more opposition politicians - Nika Gvaramia, also of Coalition for Change, and Irakli Okruashvili, a former defence minister under UNM - have also been detained for failure to tesify before the commission, and remain in pre-trial detention awaiting their sentences, which are likely to be similar.

Neither Melia nor Targamazde attended their court hearings on June 27.

Melia was already in pre-trial detention, having refused to pay the bail initially imposed upon him following his non-appearance before GD’s commission.

Targamazde, having paid bail, arrived at the police station near his home after the announcement of his sentence and was placed in handcuffs.

GD’s parliamentary commission

The incumbent GD parliament launched an investigative commission in February to probe what they claim to be “systemic” and “monstrous” “crimes” and abuses committed by officials of the former-ruling United National Movement, during their time in government from 2003-12 but also since.

GD critics argue the commission is essentially a tool of political persecution that the ruling party is using to outlaw their opponents one by one.

Shortly after the commission was launched, GD announced that its findings would form a basis of evidence upon which to have UNM and its so-called “successor parties” declared unconstitutional and banned.

Outlawing the so-called “collective UNM” was one of GD’s main campaign pillars in the run up to Georgia’s contentious October 2024 parliamentary election, which the opposition accuse the ruling party of rigging.

With the exception of the For Georgia leader, Giorgi Gakharia, all opposition figures summoned to the commission so far have refused to appear and have had criminal cases opened against them.

Citing reports of violations during the October 2024 parliamentary elections, all four of Georgia’s major opposition blocs have declared they do not consider the parliament to be legitimate, and subsequently do not recognise the commission.

As per article 349 of the Georgian Criminal Code, “non-compliance with the request of the Parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission” is punishable by up to a year imprisonment as well as a ban on holding political office for up to three years.

All those opposition figures who failed to attend their commission hearings were initially granted bail as a preventive measure.

Japaridze, along with Gvaramia and Melia, refused to pay, and were sent to pre-trial detention to await their verdict.

Others - Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze and Vashadze - did pay, although this seems to have had no impact on the severity of sentence received.