Tbilisi City Court has found Nika Melia, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, guilty of an administrative offense and fined him 5,000 GEL.

The case concerned Melia’s administrative detention near Lisi Lake earlier this year.

During the hearing, the Ministry of Internal Affairs presented two police officers as witnesses. They testified that Melia insulted police officers— an accusation Melia denied.

Melia, in turn, told the court that around 50 police officers were involved in his detention. The witnesses, however, rejected this claim, stating that only three officers took part in the arrest.

Melia was detained in May under Article 173 of the Administrative Offenses Code of Georgia, which pertains to verbally insulting or committing other offensive acts against a law enforcement officer.