Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who is currently serving a prison sentence, has released another lengthy letter from prison, accusing government representatives of spreading false claims about him and alleging that he and his family have been subjected to pressure and “immoral blackmail.”
Garibashvili said he had heard comments from government representatives and what he described as “false and slanderous statements” by government-aligned experts, as well as an “unrestrained propaganda” campaign on television and social media.
“This was, of course, expected, and I understand their purpose, but I want to tell you that your efforts are completely in vain,” Garibashvili wrote.
The former prime minister also returned to his earlier claims concerning Mamuka Mdinaradze, saying that a letter had been delivered to a member of his family through a close friend of Mdinaradze.
“That person became involved in this mess completely by chance, which is why I am deliberately not naming him. As for Mdinaradze, if he does not want innocent people to be harmed, he should stop spreading lies and take full responsibility,” Garibashvili said.
Garibashvili noted that he had remained silent throughout his eight months in prison and had made no public statements during that period.
“I want to remind the public once again that I have been sitting silently in prison for eight months. No one has heard a single public word from me. I have not taken a single step either to the right or to the left,” he wrote.
Addressing the authorities directly, Garibashvili accused them of setting a “dirty provocation” and a “dishonorable trap” for him. He claimed that he had trusted their word and followed them with “sincere and blind trust,” only to be deceived and abandoned.
“You came into my home as if I were a robber and a criminal, traumatized my family, my wife and children, and entered the homes of my mother and father, and my parents-in-law,” he wrote.
Garibashvili said he had endured what he described as “terrible pain and tragedy” in silence because of his 20-year relationship with Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, his “great love, respect, boundless gratitude and absolute loyalty” toward him, as well as his commitment to his political team and the country.
He claimed that he had ultimately been sentenced to five years in prison because of “false perceptions, imaginings, envy, fears and suspicions” created by a particular group within the ruling team.
“You condemned and sacrificed me to prison for absolutely no reason,” Garibashvili wrote.
The former prime minister further alleged that pressure against him had continued in prison, claiming that he was being asked to admit to corruption in order to eliminate what he described as a “one-percent risk” that he could eventually return to politics.
He also alleged that this had been accompanied by “immoral blackmail and pressure,” including, for the second time, a reference to the possible arrest of his 75-year-old father.
“You touched such depths of my heart and soul that you literally ‘blew me up’ and left me no other choice,” he wrote. “I am not fighting anyone. I am only defending myself and my family; therefore, I will be forced to respond in kind to every step you take.”
Garibashvili also criticized what he described as an organized campaign against him on television and social media, warning government representatives that they would eventually regret their statements.
“Be careful — soon you will be ashamed of your own statements when you understand my truth,” he wrote.
He rejected attempts to portray him as a traitor to Georgia, his former political team or Ivanishvili, insisting that he remained the same person who had served the country and Georgian Dream with loyalty.
“I have never gone, and will never go, against my country. So stop and be silent!” Garibashvili wrote.
Concluding the letter, the former prime minister reiterated that he was not seeking a confrontation with anyone.
“I want to state clearly once again: I am not fighting anyone, nor am I fighting against anyone; I am only defending myself and my family,” Garibashvili said.
Related story: Garibashvili says corruption case was designed to ‘destroy’ him politically
