Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia has resigned. He made his resignation statement at a special briefing at the government administration.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned citing disagreement with his party colleagues over the detention of Nika Melia, leader of UNM. This follows the Tbilisi City Court’s decision to send United National Movement’s Nika Melia, Chairperson of the largest opposition party, to pretrial detention.

“Unfortunately, I could not reach a common understanding on this matter with my team and decided to resign. I want to hope, that this step would contribute to reduced polarisation in our political space, since I believe that polarization and confrontation pose the greatest risks to our country’s future and economic development,” G. Gakharia stated.

G. Gakharia’s statement said that while Melia had “never respected the law” and called “for the storming of the Parliament” on June 20, the decision to detain him poses unacceptable risks, and unduly complicates the task of economic recovery and the management of pandemic.

The Public Defender of Georgia calls on the Parliament of Georgia not to consent to the use of pre-trial detention against Nikanor Melia. We also call on the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia to use the opportunities at its disposal and reconsider the decision on application of measures of restraint.

According to the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia, in order to apply a measure of restraint, it is necessary to properly substantiate its objectives and grounds. In particular, the Prosecutor’s Office must prove that a particular form of a measure of restraint is necessary, as the defendant may avoid attending the trial, hide, destroy information relevant to the case, or committ a new crime.

Violation of the measure of restraint should not be an automatic ground for ordering detention or any other strict measure. When considering the application of pre-trial detention for Nikanor Melia, the main subject of assessment should be - whether there is a need today to restrict the conduct of the defendant and whether this restriction serves the interests of justice; Moreover, more than 18 months have passed since the launch of criminal proceedings against the defendant, the investigation phase has already been completed and the case is currently being considered on its merits.

Considering that only three police officers were charged (non-custodial measures were used) with the use of excessive force against dozens of citizens and journalists during the June 20 events - the arrest of the leader of the opposition political party without proper justification of the procedural need, will be a big blow to the Georgian justice system, making it look like the practices common in non-democratic countries. And this type of international image will significantly slow down the process of western development of the country, which, along with many other benefits, implies the fundamental protection of human rights.

In view of the above, we call on the Members of Parliament to discuss and properly assess the need and necessity for the use of a measure of restraint against Nikanor Melia. At the same time, criminal prosecution and detention of leaders of opposition parties only harms the democratic image of the country and the trust in the democratic institutions of the state.

Some of groups are going to leave the United National Movement – this statement was made by one of the members of UNM Nika Melia. He spoke about inter partial confrontations.
According to Nika Melia, this group decided to leave party when the decision about holding UNM Council was made.
As the member of United National Movement said, these politicians will make official statements soon. 

The majority and the minority have formed in the Parliament. Five factions have also registered. Georgian Dream is created by 116 members, including 115 members of Georgian Dream deputes and Simon Nozadze from the Entrepreneurs. The Leader of the majority is Archil Talakvadze.
As for the majority parliamentary fractions, only the two fractions have formed: Georgian Dream by 10 deputes and Georgian Dream- Entrepreneurs with 6 deputes.
As for the minority parliamentary fractions, this is National Movement with 20 deputes and it is lead by Nika Melia. Also National Movement-For Development of Georgia with 6 deputes and it is lead by Elene Khoshtaria. 

According to the information of United National Movement, if the results are unsatisfactory in elections for Georgian Dream, the former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvli will leave Georgia. As Nika Melia and Giga Bokeria said, the information is trusted.
“Bidzina Ivanisvhili has met with his nearest surroundings in informal format and said: if the results are unsatisfactory in parliamentary elections, he will leave Georgia. In our opinion, despite Ivanishvili regressed practically all of the sectors in our country, it will be too unfavorable if he really leaves Georgia after the elections,”-Giga Bokeria and Nika Melia said. 

None of the involved person in Kortskheli incident has not been arrested. It is not specified in MIA if they are questioned for this time. According to reports, the appropriate examinations are scheduled and the questioning of witnesses is underway but it is not specified if anyone is questioned.
The investigation began yesterday after the Kortskkeli incident. Nika Melia, Giga Bokeria and Tengiz Gunava were injured after the clashed between the supporters of Georgian Dream and National Movement.