The opposition United National Movement (UNM) members vow to be a human shield for their Chairman Nika Melia.

Nika Oboladze claims “the police would not be able to enter due to crowded office”. Oboladze believes Melia is innocent.

Levan Bezhashvili pledges that “they will resist the ruling Georgian Dream’s law-based disorder together with the UNM supporters.”

“A bulk of people, supporters, members of the other opposition parties, are gathering in our office that will stop them (police) acting freely. They have to clash with unarmed peaceful civilians,” Bezhashvili stated.

Levan Khabeishvili added that “the court’s ruling would be politically motivated.”

“We are waiting for a political verdict. UNM continues peaceful fighting against it,” Khabeishvili stressed.

Tbilisi City Court will hold a trial of Nika Melia, Chairman of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), at 4 pm local time on Wednesday.

Melia was charged with incitement to violence during the June protests in the Georgian capital Tbilisi in 2019 and was released on GEL 30,000 bail. UNM Chairman defied the bail conditions by removing his monitoring bracelet. The court increased the bail amount to GEL 40,000 in November 2020 following the violation. Melia did not pay the added bail either.

The General Prosecutor’s Office (POG) warned Melia of a motion to substitute the bail with custody. POG appealed to the Georgian parliament to suspend his parliamentary immunity to request his arrest from the court.

The parliament greenlit measures against Melia with 88 votes pro on February 16.