Supporters of jailed Georgia politician rally outside prison

Hundreds protest in Rustavi, expressing solidarity with opposition leader Melia a day after his arrest.

Hundreds of supporters of Georgia’s jailed opposition leader have rallied outside the prison with the political crisis in the country showing few signs of abating. Georgia has been in the grip of a crisis since parliamentary elections in October last year, which opposition parties denounced as rigged after the governing party, Georgian Dream, claimed a narrow victory. This week’s arrest of Nika Melia – leader of Georgia’s main opposition party the United National Movement (UNM) – further exacerbated the political crisis.