Nika Melia's lawyers demand that judge Nino Chakhnashvili recuse herself.
As the lawyers say, special forces are deployed outside the party's office, with this indicating that they plan to jail Melia.
"The MIA cannon know the court ruling before the completion of the hearing. As the special forces are outside the office, we can conclude that the ruling has been delivered beforehand, and you are just announcing the already delivered verdict. They also disrespect you, as they have not even waited for the court ruling. All these circumstances have made us ask you to recuse yourself," lawyer Dimitri Sadzaglishvili said.
Nika Melia's hearing is now underway in the Tbilisi City Court.
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia has submitted a motion to the Tbilisi City Court to change the measure of restraint for Nika Melia. The prosecutor urges the judge to send Melia to jail.
The parliament has stripped the UNM head of immunity. The representatives of the majority approved the decision unanimously, with a Citizen party leader Levan Ioseliani only voting against it.
The Tbilisi City Court imposed GEL 30,000 bail upon Melia as a measure of restraint on 27 June 2019. He was charged with committing a violent crime aiming to disrupt public order. The bail was increased to GEL 40,000 later, as Nika Melia refused to pay the already set amount.
The UNM head was summoned to the Office of the Prosecutor, but he refused to comply with the order. Melia was given a week to post the bail. If he refuses again, the motion seeking to send him to jail will be filed.
