Nika Melia, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, was forcibly removed from the courtroom after an intense confrontation that included spilling water onto Judge Irakli Shvangiradze.

During the proceedings, Melia criticized the judge for not asking him about the circumstances surrounding his abduction.

“You are temporarily appointed as a judge with a probationary period, and everyone knows that. For the next three years, Chinchaladze and Murusidze will be monitoring your obedience in making decisions. You are dishonest,” Melia declared.

Addressing the events of his arrest on May 29, Melia insisted he was not detained but abducted.

“Let me briefly explain to the society what happened. At 9 p.m., I was near Lisi Lake with two vehicles when I was invited to participate in a program on a social platform. Before I reached the location, I was abducted—not detained. We were stopped by patrol police, and the driver was asked for a license. But their interest extended far beyond that. I heard a voice asking if the object was inside.”

He continued, “Eleven people were in a minivan with no insignia indicating they were law enforcement. When you detain someone, you must explain why. I was abducted yesterday, and my phone was confiscated. One individual tried to open my phone—no one knows why they did this. My court hearing was scheduled for today.”

Melia added that both vehicles recorded footage of the incident, but the cameras had been broken and the footage was confiscated.

“This is the reality,” Melia asserted. “You must decide who is lying and who is telling the truth. But can you really determine the truth? Don’t you wonder why I am here? Meanwhile, thousands of people have been brought here, physically assaulted, and injured. Yet, no one asks who tortured them—only to see them thrown behind bars.”

Melia was detained on May 29 on administrative charges of insulting law enforcement officers—just one day before his court hearing related to his refusal to testify before a parliamentary investigative commission examining the activities of the 2003-2012 government and its officials.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that Melia’s detention was under Article 173 of Georgia’s Administrative Code of Offenses, which penalizes verbal insults or other insulting actions against law enforcement officers during or in connection with the performance of their duties.

Previously, on April 29, Melia was granted bail of GEL 50,000 after failing to appear at a session of the investigative commission. His initial court appearance scheduled for May 29 was postponed to May 30.