“This is not about bail, and not about 10,000 or 50,000 GEL – this is about whether you are playing by Ivanishvili’s rules or not!” – says Nika Melia, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, responding to the question of whether bail should be paid on behalf of some opposition politicians who refused to cooperate with the temporary investigative commission established in Parliament.

As Melia explains, moral superiority is critically important.

“Should a politician be with the people or in prison?

Asking the question that way is like asking:

Should a political prisoner who’s a student be at university or in prison?

Should a political prisoner who’s an actor be in the theater or in prison?

Should a political prisoner who’s a doctor be treating patients or sitting in prison?

Should a political prisoner who’s a journalist be in the media space or in prison?

And so on…

You either compromise with injustice and immorality, or you fight to the end and stand on the right side of that fight. Moral superiority is everything – it’s very clear.

This isn’t about bail. Out of 50 political prisoners, any one of them could be home within a week if they were willing to compromise. Many in Georgian Dream have even said this publicly. For example, they’ve said that Mzia Amaghlobeli would be released if she at least expresses regret. I remember Mamuka Mdinaradze saying about actor Andro Chichinadze, “If I see that he shows remorse, I’ll personally vouch for him.”

So again, this is not about bail, not about 10,000 or 50,000 GEL.

This is about whether you are playing by Ivanishvili’s rules – or not!” – declares Nika Melia.