Lili Gelashvili, the defense attorney for former Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili, has issued a statement expressing confidence that if the trial against the former head of government is fair, it will conclude in his victory.
“On Monday, October 19, the preliminary hearing begins on the newly fabricated bribery case against Irakli Garibashvili. We are embarking on a legal battle that, under conditions of a fair, impartial court free from political pressure, must inevitably result in an acquittal!”
The attorney emphasizes that across the 48 volumes of the criminal case file, prosecutors are attempting to establish the former prime minister’s guilt relying solely on circumstantial evidence and the testimonies of two convicted individuals who effectively struck plea deals with investigators.
“By pointing the finger at I. Garibashvili, these convicts essentially bought their freedom: their 10-year prison sentences were reduced by a third, and some have been released from detention altogether! Such ‘plea-bargain justice’ is direct proof that we are dealing not with the rule of law, but with a political hit job.”
Gelashvili recalls that even prior to the arrest, investigators publicly showcased gold bars and jewelry seized during searches, deliberately associating them in the public mind with Garibashvili, even though nothing of the sort was seized from his residence.
The attorney considers the primary evidence of political retribution to be a letter demanding a confession, which was delivered to Garibashvili in prison by high-ranking official Mamuka Mdinaradze back in July—a month before key witnesses gave their testimonies.
“The case files reveal that they were interrogated in August (August 18–21)… One wonders: how could Mamuka Mdinaradze have known in July that Burchuladze would testify against Garibashvili in August?
Doesn’t that very letter make it unequivocally clear that their goal was never to expose or curb corrupt practices, but rather to use this new grave charge merely as an instrument for Garibashvili’s political neutralization?”
The defense also points to psychological pressure—the cancellation of visits with his young children and the dismissal of Garibashvili’s family members from their jobs. Furthermore, Gelashvili sharply pushed back against government figures reproaching the former prime minister for a lack of courage.
“First spend years sitting silently in prison on absurd charges yourself, stabbed in the back by your own allies, and only then lecture anyone on courage… It is you who are destroying and fracturing from within the genuine, dignified Georgian Dream chosen by the majority of the people!”
In conclusion, Lili Gelashvili expressed hope that the upcoming proceedings would serve as a test for the country’s entire judicial system.
“I need an impartial judge, free from political pressure, who will not hand down a conviction based solely on testimony traded for freedom! I want a court that delivers a verdict not on Irakli Garibashvili, but on itself, on its own institution! I want a state governed by the rule of law!”
Letters from Prison:
Irakli Garibashvili served as Prime Minister of Georgia twice—from November 20, 2013, to December 23, 2015, and from February 22, 2021, to February 8, 2024. In addition, he twice served as chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Garibashvili permanently left the party in April 2025, several months after stepping down as prime minister. At the time, he stated that he saw no further need to remain party chairman or stay in politics altogether. However, the former prime minister affirmed that he remained a “loyal soldier” of Ivanishvili’s team.
Subsequently, the politician was detained, charged with corruption, and sentenced to five years in prison (he faced between 9 and 12 years of imprisonment, but in January 2026 it emerged that he had admitted guilt and entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor’s office).
On August 24, Irakli Garibashvili was indicted on a new charge—accepting an exceptionally large bribe committed by an organized group by prior conspiracy. This statute carries a penalty of 11 to 15 years’ imprisonment. This time, the former prime minister refused to plead guilty and declared his intention to fight for justice.
Meanwhile, since mid-August, Garibashvili has been regularly posting letters on social media, claiming that he is being “forced” into an open confrontation.
- On August 17, Irakli Garibashvili for the first time openly spoke out against the ruling team and Bidzina Ivanishvili—according to him, “on instructions from Bidzina Ivanishvili,” he was sent a letter proposing that he “confess” to an unspecified corruption crime in order to hedge against a 1-percent “risk” of his return to politics. He placed full responsibility for his personal safety and that of his family directly on Ivanishvili and the current authorities;
- In the post dated August 18, he no longer mentions Ivanishvili, stating instead that the sender of the letter was Mamuka Mdinaradze—who at various times served as vice prime minister, minister, head of the State Security Service of Georgia (SSG), and leader of the parliamentary majority. In the same letter, Garibashvili noted that he had “done everything” to avoid a confrontation with his team and close associates, citing this as his reason for admitting to the initial corruption charges, which resulted in a 5-year sentence under a plea agreement. Nine days after Garibashvili’s letter was published, Mdinaradze unexpectedly announced his departure from politics;
- In his third open letter from prison on August 20, the former prime minister alleged threats of arrest against his family members. According to the politician, he is being pressured to plead guilty in the new case “solely to hedge against the so-called one-percent risk you communicated and to bar me from politics forever.” The former prime minister contends that this was accompanied by “immoral blackmail and pressure”: “For the second time, hints were made about the arrest of my 75-year-old father”;
- On August 25, the former Georgian prime minister issued another letter from prison, stating that he saw no point in attending court hearings because the new criminal case against him was purely political. Garibashvili termed the proceedings a “political masquerade” and stressed that truth now remained his only path and weapon in the struggle;
- In a letter dated September 1, the former prime minister stated that he had questions regarding the alleged suicide of an interviewee for the newspaper Asaval-Dasavali who had praised him and criticized Irakli Kobakhidze. According to Garibashvili, some had cast doubt on the suicide ruling: “I am raising this question publicly because society still has unanswered questions regarding the suicides of several individuals that occurred during the Kobakhidze-Mdinaradze rule.” Following the publication of the letter, opposition leaders were summoned for questioning, but not the politicians mentioned in the post;
- In a letter dated September 7, Irakli Garibashvili asserted that “dirty political games” were being waged against him, adding that he had recently heard vile and deceitful statements from people who had lost all human decency. According to the former prime minister, authorities are attempting to discredit him by linking him to the United National Movement, but these “ludicrous and desperate” methods are futile. The politician stated that Georgian Dream is staging a “revolting and tragic” masquerade;
- On September 21, in his seventh letter, he again addressed his former associates, stating that they had “confused even their own voters” and sowed “fear of hopelessness, instability, and an unpredictable future.” “You are already following Saakashvili’s path and bringing back the governing methods of the United National Movement.” According to Garibashvili, he was promised that if he pleaded guilty, a plea deal would be struck granting him a lengthy suspended sentence and a fine, without incarceration. However, the ex-prime minister claims he was “duped”;
- On September 30, the former prime minister once again released a letter from prison detailing his achievements during his second term as head of the Georgian government. “Nearly three years have passed since then, and I want to ask the people: has the situation in the country improved or worsened—both in domestic and foreign policy?!,” Garibashvili wrote.
