"Today, everyone in this country is in danger! No one is protected! The detention of former high-ranking officials, threats of violence or allegedly driving someone to suicide, and the demonstrative racketeering of well-known businessmen mean one thing: the state is destroyed!" writes Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, on social media, commenting on the case of Tornike Rizhvadze, the former chairman of the Adjara government.

As she notes, "a regime based on violence and fear is the classic final stage of a dictatorship."

"There is complete lawlessness in the country! Those who call themselves the 'ruling party' have taken everything into their own hands. They think they can deceive the people with scripted scenarios and fabricated tales. Meanwhile, behind the curtain of this illusory reality, the country has been dragged back into a mafia-criminal space. The Russian trace is evident in all of this. These methods, this lawlessness, this false reality, and a regime devoid of human dignity! Rejecting democracy and a European future logically leads to this mafia-like 'governance.' Today, everyone in this country is in danger! No one is protected!

The current situation, the detention of former high-ranking officials, threats of violence or allegedly driving someone to suicide, and the demonstrative racketeering of well-known businessmen mean one thing: the state is destroyed! A regime based on violence and fear, which no longer distinguishes between 'its own' and 'others,' is the classic final stage of a dictatorship, and events are unfolding rapidly!" writes Salome Zurabishvili on social media.

For reference, this morning, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that Tornike Rizhvadze, the former chairman of the Adjara government, was admitted to "Geohospitals" in Sagarejo with a gunshot wound to the chest area. According to the agency, Rizhvadze received emergency medical assistance. Doctors stated that his lung is damaged, and his health condition is stably critical. Later, Rizhvadze was transferred from Sagarejo to the First University Clinic in Tbilisi.

In connection with Tornike Rizhvadze’s case, Alexi Akhvelediani has been detained as a suspect for negligent storage of a firearm.