Prosecutor: For 29 days, we heard from Nikanor Melia that he had no intention of paying the bail, but today we heard that he would have changed his position in the last three hours, yet his opportunity was restricted - This was simply laughable

Today, at the trial, we heard the defense’s position that in the last three hours, he [Nika Melia] would have changed his stance and paid the bail amount, but his opportunity was restricted—naturally, this was an attempt on his part to evade responsibility, said Natia Tatiashvili, the prosecutor in the case of Nika Melia, one of the leaders of the “Coalition for Change,” in a statement to journalists.

According to her, there was clear grounds for replacing the less severe preventive measure in his case.

“For 29 days, we heard Nikanor Melia’s position that he had no intention of paying the bail amount or securing it with property. Despite this, today at the trial, we heard the defense’s position that in the last three hours, he would have changed his stance and paid the bail amount, but his opportunity was restricted. Naturally, this was an attempt on his part to evade responsibility. There were clear grounds for replacing the less severe preventive measure, as he disregarded the court’s ruling, failed to secure it, and did not comply with the judge’s order.

Who detained him and why? Probably, the relevant authorities will issue a statement, and if the circumstances he claimed occurred, they will respond accordingly. This issue should be addressed to the relevant structure and investigated.

As for paying the amount, we are not talking about assumptions. For 29 days, he refused to fulfill the obligation imposed by the court’s ruling. I reminded the defense at today’s trial about procedural legislation—just as the accused himself, a third party could have paid the bail amount on his behalf or secured it, even with real estate. Mentioning the last three hours was simply laughable,” the prosecutor stated.