On September 21st, former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has released another letter from prison explaining the circumstances of his imprisonment.
Garibashvili says he was promised that if he pleaded guilty, he would receive a plea deal, a lengthy suspended sentence, and a fine, but would not be sent to prison. However, he says he was “screwed over.”
According to Garibashvili, the main purpose and motive behind his arrest was to neutralise him politically.
“Questions have been raised in society about my imprisonment, and many vague theories and speculations are circulating. In my previous letters, I partially explained and hinted at the main motive, but I have decided to elaborate further and explain to the public the real reason I was sent to prison. The main purpose and motive behind my arrest was and remains to neutralize me politically, damage and discredit my name and reputation among the people, and ultimately destroy my political future.
After they committed an act of unimaginable treachery, set a dirty trap for me, broke their word, violated our agreement and stormed into my home, I was given a message that same day: ‘You won’t be able to keep your hands clean; you must forget about politics.’ This was followed by a promise: ‘Not a single day in prison, a lengthy suspended sentence and a fine.’ Once again, I was ‘screwed over.’ On January 4, I was unexpectedly informed that the terms had changed and that I would have to go to prison for five years. I had already pleaded guilty, been released on bail and was waiting for the plea deal to be finalized under the promised terms.
As I have already explained to the public in my letters, because of my 20-year relationship with Bidzina Ivanishvili and my loyalty to him, I went silently to the political execution and ended up in prison because I did not want to enter into a confrontation. In doing so, I made a sacrifice and also sought to protect my team and my country. In return, I was ‘screwed over’ for the third time,” Garibashvili says.
However, Garibashvili says that after his arrest, he communicated with the authorities through an intermediary and was told that his imprisonment had damaged the government more than it had damaged him.
“In February, when communication was established through an intermediary, the government’s main message, apart from the newspaper, was as follows: my imprisonment had damaged the government more than it had damaged me… I realized that they were trying to frame me and preparing another dirty provocation. The reason was clear: they had failed to discredit me sufficiently in the eyes of the public and had not achieved the effect they expected from my arrest and the accompanying propaganda.
After that, there was no communication until July. Then, as the public already knows, they unexpectedly sent me a letter with new terms. Through an intermediary, I was also verbally informed that my imprisonment had seriously damaged the government, while my reputation had not suffered any significant harm. Public sympathy for me had grown, particularly among Georgian Dream voters, especially against the backdrop of dozens of people convicted in the case concerning the attempted overthrow of the government being released on suspended sentences.
The public could not understand or explain why I was being kept in prison for five years, given that I had pleaded guilty, compensated the damages, had no injured party and had paid the fine. My imprisonment had therefore become a burden for the government.
This was compounded by irrational suspicions and fears that I might return to politics after being released from prison. For this reason, they were demanding that I admit to a new, fabricated corruption charge, so that, on the one hand, my name could be destroyed once and for all and, on the other, they could further safeguard themselves against the risk of my return to politics,” Garibashvili says.
Garibashvili says his imprisonment was political from beginning to end, from the very first day, and that everything done against him was politically motivated and had nothing to do with a legal process.
He says he is now in prison because of “absurd suspicions, fears and envy,” which he describes as unimaginable injustice and malice against him and his family.
“Over the past two weeks, the government’s false and dirty propaganda has continued its discreditation campaign against me using ridiculous and feeble methods, driven solely by fear. I have also heard hypocritical and false statements from government representatives, to which I would like to respond as follows: From what I can see, you are having far too much fun with this and have become completely absorbed in your roles. Stop pretending! First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then talk about corruption. The public knows perfectly well that this is a complete farce and an insult to our society,” Garibashvili says.
In another letter from prison, Irakli Garibashvili also says that Georgian Dream is bringing back “the methods of rule used by the United National Movement”.
He says Georgian Dream has caused suffering to individuals and families and created a sense of hopelessness among the public.
“With these ridiculous and malicious spectacles, you have insulted state institutions and made them a laughingstock both inside and outside the country. You have given both internal and external enemies arguments to use against us and, most importantly, inflicted enormous and irreparable damage on your own country, your government and the ruling party itself.
Through your reckless policies and actions, you have plunged the country into continuous chaos and an endless crisis. You have confused even your own voters, caused suffering to individuals and families, and instilled in the public a sense of hopelessness, instability and fear of an unpredictable future. You are already following Saakashvili’s path and bringing back the methods of rule of the United National Movement…
You are committing evil. Be careful!” Garibashvili says.
Irakli Garibashvili, former Georgian Dream leader and former prime minister, was charged with a new offense on August 24: accepting a bribe of particularly large value as part of a group acting in prior agreement. According to his lawyer, Garibashvili denies the charges and intends to fight them in court.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Garibashvili received a bribe of GEL 750,000, which was handed to him directly by Juansher Burchuladze. The charge carries a prison sentence of 11 to 15 years.
Since August 17, Irakli Garibashvili, the imprisoned former Georgian Dream leader and former prime minister, has been publishing letters on social media. He claims he is being “forced” to start fighting back.
In his first post, the former prime minister wrote that he had received a letter in prison, at Bidzina Ivanishvili’s instruction, offering him the opportunity to take responsibility for a new corruption case. In the same statement, Garibashvili said that Ivanishvili and the authorities bear full responsibility for the safety of him and his family.
In a post published on August 18, he no longer mentioned Ivanishvili and said that the letter he had published on Facebook the previous day had been sent to him in July by Mamuka Mdinaradze, one of Georgian Dream’s leaders.
Garibashvili says he communicated his position to Mdinaradze that same day and “reiterated once again” that he had no intention of returning to politics. According to the letter, “they” responded that there was “still a 1% risk” of his return to politics.
Garibashvili claims that the corruption charge was brought against him precisely to eliminate that risk. Mdinaradze also responded to Garibashvili.
In a letter published on August 20, Garibashvili addressed Georgian Dream, saying that the party had staged a “dirty provocation” against him, set a “despicable trap,” deceived and sacrificed him, and terrorized his family. He said that they had stormed into the homes of his parents and his father-in-law’s family. In the same letter, he said he had once again received a hint that his father could be arrested.
