“In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said that Brussels slandered the Georgian state into Nika Melia’s case. In 2025, instead of apology, we hear new defamations from Brussels,” wrote Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Facebook.

According to Papuashvili, if Brussels had not committed to some values, it would have apologized to the Georgian people.

“In 2021, when Nika Melia was detained, Brussels attacked the supremacy of law and democracy. In 2023, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) stated that Brussels slandered the Georgian state in the Nika Melia case.

If Brussels were not committed to some values, it would have apologized to the Georgian people. In 2025, instead of an apology, we hear new defamations from Brussels. Justifying and supporting extremism contradict democratic values,” he said.

The persecution of political figures and activists violates democratic values, and all those detained for exercising fundamental rights must be released, wrote Anouar El Anouni, the EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on the X Platform.

“Georgia: A week after Zurab Japaridze’s [arrest], another opposition leader, Nika Melia, was detained yesterday. The persecution of political figures and activists violates democratic values. All those detained for exercising fundamental rights must be released,” El Anouni wrote.