Former Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili has released another letter from prison, accusing the authorities of a “disgusting and tragic” masquerade. The former prime minister dismissed as frivolous the investigation launched following one of his recent letters, under which opposition figures were also questioned.
Garibashvili urged the country’s leadership “not to try in vain” by resorting to “ludicrous and helpless” methods, as linking him to the United National Movement party is as impossible as “mixing oil and water.” In the letter, the politician mockingly addressed claims that he is allegedly an agent of the “Deep State” and France: “I am ‘lucky’ not to speak other foreign languages, otherwise I would probably have been declared an ‘agent’ of other states as well.”
The former head of government once again addressed his former teammates, emphasizing that he is not waging a war against anyone, and that it was they who stabbed him in the back.
“The panicked reaction and completely erratic behavior of the authorities have led to the total unmasking of the system. Society has witnessed yet another ridiculous, and at the same time utterly disgusting and tragic masquerade staged by the ruling circles.
Instead of providing timely and transparent explanations regarding specific facts and the issues raised, we have witnessed a series of frivolous interrogations. Their primary goal was to link me to the ‘National Movement’ and portray the matter as if all of this had been planned in advance and coordinated with the radical opposition.”
According to Garibashvili, all these “ludicrous and helpless propaganda methods” are in vain.
The former prime minister also responded to the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, who called his previous letter from prison an attempt to “drag a legal matter into the political arena.”
“Shalva, this is not a legal process—this is ruthless political persecution!” Garibashvili declared.
According to the former prime minister, in recent days he has heard “unworthy, false, and hypocritical” statements from “many people who have lost face.”
As a reminder, Irakli Garibashvili is currently serving a 5-year prison sentence in a case involving the legalization of illicit income (money laundering). In late August, he was charged with a new count of accepting an exceptionally large bribe. Under this statute, he faces between 11 and 15 years in prison.
Shortly before the initiation of the latest criminal proceedings, Garibashvili released an open letter stating that “from this day forward, full responsibility for his safety and the safety of his family rests with Bidzina Ivanishvili and the entire government.” Subsequently, the former prime minister issued several more statements in which, among other things, he criticized incumbent Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Mamuka Mdinaradze, who stepped down as head of the State Security Service.
On September 1, Garibashvili circulated a letter following which opposition representatives in Georgia were questioned. He spoke of the death of Lazare Djorbenadze, an interviewee for the newspaper Asaval-Dasavali who had allegedly seen a document compromising the sitting prime minister. In effect, Garibashvili cast doubt on the ruling that Djorbenadze died by suicide, asserting that the public “still has unanswered questions regarding the string of suicides that took place during the Kobakhidze–Mdinaradze rule.”