EU’s Michel Urges Georgia to End Crisis Over Jailed Party Leader

(Bloomberg) -- European Council President Charles Michel appealed to Georgians to end a confrontation over the detention of the country’s main opposition party leader that has plunged the Caucasus nation into political crisis.

“The European Union calls on all parties to step up their efforts to de-escalate the situation and come together to find common ground,” Michel said after talks with President Salome Zourabichvili Monday in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. He said he’ll meet with the government and opposition leaders, and that resolving the crisis “requires courage from all sides.”

Opposition protesters marched in Tbilisi Friday in support of United National Movement leader Nika Melia, who was seized when riot police stormed the party’s headquarters. Prosecutors said Melia was taken into pre-trial detention because he refused to post increased bail after removing a monitoring bracelet during a November rally. They charge him with instigating violence at June 2019 protests, allegations he calls politically motivated.

Opposition parties are also boycotting parliament and demanding fresh elections after a disputed vote in October won by the ruling Georgian Dream party of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, the country’s richest man.

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