TBILISI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2021) Georgia's interior ministry said that its computers were subjected to a cyberattack from abroad on Tuesday amid escalating tensions following the detention of opposition figure Nika Melia.
On Tuesday morning, police stormed the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party office in Tbilisi and detained is leader, Melia, and over a dozen other activists. The UK and US missions criticized the detentions and called on the Georgian government to show restraint. Opposition parties have taken to the streets to protest the detention.
"On February 23, a cyber-attack was carried out against the computer infrastructure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia from different countries. The relevant structural unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has foiled the attack as a result of operative actions," the interior ministry said hours after the police raid.
A criminal investigation has been opened into the hacking attempt.
Prior to this detention, Melia was briefly arrested for leading riots and anti-Russian protests back in June 2019 and later released on 30,000 Georgian lari ($9,063) bail. He was forced to wear a monitoring bracelet but removed it publicly during another wave of opposition protests, which erupted in November 2020 in non-recognition of the general election results. This prompted a court to revise the conditions of Melia's release and impose a new bail, totaling 40,000 lari. The UNM chairman refused to pay the bail.
After the court ruled to arrest him on February 17, Melia barricaded himself inside the party office, under the guard of loyal supporters. The next day, then-Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced his resignation in protest of the opposition figure's pending arrest, warning that such a move could further exacerbate the already tense political situation.
