US Senators: Nika Melia's arrest profoundly troubling

10:58, 24.02.2021

U.S. Senators Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen, chair of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, along with Representatives Adam Kinzinger and Gerry Connolly, co-chairs of the House Georgia Caucus, labeled Nika Melia’s arrest as ‘profoundly troubling.’

The US officials “call for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including Nika Melia and Giorgi Rurua.”

“The Georgian government’s decision to violently raid the United National Movement headquarters to arrest its leader, Nika Melia and dozens of activists is profoundly troubling. The corrupt use of Georgia’s law enforcement and judiciary to execute politically-motivated actions jeopardizes what remains of Georgia’s democracy and its Euro-Atlantic path. All political parties in Georgia must cease provocations and negotiate a peaceful resolution to this crisis,” the joint statement reads.

The riot police detained the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party leader Nika Melia at the party’s headquarters on Tuesday morning.

By - Marika Kartozia

Politics