Irakli Garibashvili has become a victim of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s political persecution, said Nugzar Tsiklauri, a member of the “Coalition for Change,” while commenting on the arrest of former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on PalitraNews’ program “Day’s Newsroom".

According to Nugzar Tsiklauri, “Irakli Garibashvili was arrested not because of specific crimes or the USD 7 million, but because Bidzina Ivanishvili passed a verdict.”

“The ruling elite immediately distanced itself from Irakli Garibashvili, as is their habit. This once again points to the moral character of the representatives of this government. The very same people who used to lavish praise on Garibashvili, portraying him as the foremost defender of our statehood and faith, now either choose silence when commenting on this issue or come out with criticism, saying that no one will get away with theft and stealing money. I think this is clear and says nothing new about the representatives of Georgian Dream.

As for the facts, I believe that Irakli Garibashvili has become a victim of exactly the kind of terror that Bidzina Ivanishvili applies to his political opponents. This is the logic of dictatorship: ‘The Moor has done his duty, the Moor must go.’ That is how I would assess what Bidzina Ivanishvili has done to him. He was not arrested because of specific crimes, not even because of the USD 7 million found in his home. He was arrested because Bidzina Ivanishvili passed a verdict. The fact that a two-time Prime Minister of the country and former Minister of Defense refuses to go to court clearly indicates what kind of judiciary exists in Georgia. If anyone knows best that no justice can be found in that court, it is probably Irakli Garibashvili himself - the very court he helped build together with Georgian Dream and Bidzina Ivanishvili.

From this perspective, what I have said means, of course, that he has been arrested on political grounds. In Georgian Dream, practically everyone steals money. We know that corruption is the main hallmark of this political force, but arrests do not happen because someone stole money; they happen because the supreme ruler, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has problems with that person. Now we know that there is an ongoing process of seizing money from various political figures. Ivanishvili believes that he enriched these people and now, when he has problems, everyone must pay back into his treasury. If we are talking about political persecution, yes - Irakli Garibashvili has become a victim of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s political persecution,” Tsiklauri stated.

According to his explanation, Bidzina Ivanishvili wants members of his inner circle to live under fear and terror. However, as Nugzar Tsiklauri noted, in the long term and from a statehood perspective, this cannot be effective, because it is aimed not at enforcing the law, but at strengthening one-party and one-man rule.

“This is also the nature and the fate of dictatorial systems. Therefore, ultimately, this is not aimed at strengthening power; on the contrary, it is a crude consolidation of one’s own authority and the introduction of psychological terror within one’s own team, so that no one dares to express opinions different from the dominant view,” Tsiklauri said.

For reference, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has reached a plea agreement with Irakli Garibashvili, under which the former Prime Minister was sentenced to five years of imprisonment. Additionally, he was fined 1 million GEL. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the money obtained as a result of criminal activity and seized during the search of his residence will also be confiscated in favor of the state.