Nika Meliya's arrest worsens Georgia's image in western eyes

The European Union (EU) and the USA have reacted negatively to the special operation aimed to detain Nika Meliya, an opposition leader, in Tbilisi and his arrest, 26 Georgian NGOs have stated. The tough authorities' actions against the opposition may complicate integration into the EU and NATO, Kakha Gogolashvili, a political analyst, has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the opposition has stated that its rallies won't stop until early elections are appointed and all the political prisoners are back at large. On Saturday (February 27), activists set up a tent camp outside the parliament building.

Meliya's arrest and the special operation to detain him have already negatively affected the country's international image – more than 200 statements were made criticizing the Georgian authorities, Kakha Gogolashvili, an expert at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, has calculated.

According to his story, the EU may impose sanctions against certain officials should the government continue using force and acting in radical ways.

The expert noted that the prosecution of Meliya has triggered an increase in protest activeness, which had recently been declining.

After the autumn 2020 parliamentary elections, Georgia faced a political crisis; and authorities have aggravated it by detaining Meliya, the above NGOs have noted, urging Georgia's international partners to react to the situation.