The Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges against one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, Nika Melia, for failing to appear before the Temporary Investigative Commission on the Activities of the Regime and Political Officials of 2003-2012.

After leaving the Prosecutor’s Office, Melia stated that “everything the so-called government has been doing in recent years is illegal.”

“The more the intensity of repressive actions by Ivanishvili increases, the closer the Georgian people will be not only to change but also to victory and Ivanishvili’s defeat. This is very important, but even more important are the fundamental changes for the better, which are inevitable.

There is no point in focusing on a particular case—everything the so-called government has done over the past years is illegal. Every person who has joined the peaceful struggle against this regime has, at some point, passed through the so-called prosecutor’s office, so-called courts, and prison cells. I believe that society will ultimately prevail against Ivanishvili.

It is impossible for a billionaire—no matter how much he is supported by hostile forces—to defeat the Georgian people because independence, sovereignty, and freedom are fundamental to us. Life without them is unimaginable. We know this regime cannot survive without its authoritarian structures, but soon they will have to adapt to democratic governance, not autocratic rule.

Ivanishvili is anxious because the real threat to him is the collapse of his hybrid autocratic system—a semi-democratic façade. If he seeks to establish a fully autocratic regime, he will have to walk on extremely thin ice, which will inevitably break. Ivanishvili now stands before this dilemma. I am convinced that shortly, the country’s fate for the next 10-15 years will be decided,” said Nika Melia.