UN Urges For Calm, Dialogue In Georgia Amid Protests - Spokesperson

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th February, 2021) The United Nations calls calm and dialogue in Georgia amid protests in the capital Tbilisi after the arrest of the country's main opposition leader, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, police stormed the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party office in Tbilisi and detained its leader, Nika Melia, and more than a dozen other activists. Georgia's opposition parties and their supporters have taken to the streets to protest the detention.

"We are following with concern the developments that we are seeing in Tbilisi. It's very important that there'd be calm, that the outstanding political issues be addressed through dialogue, that there'd be respect for the rule of law, and of course the democratic process," Dujarric said.

Prior to this detention, Melia was briefly arrested for leading riots and anti-Russian protests back in June 2019 and was on a $9,063 bail. Melia was forced to wear a monitoring bracelet but removed it publicly during another wave of opposition protests, which erupted in November 2020 in non-recognition of the general election results. The move prompted a court to revise the conditions of Melia's release and impose a new bail, which he has refused to pay.