“The October 4 case shows that in this country there is not justice, but medieval, spectacular, ritual punishment ceremonies so that Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili can be pleased,” said Grigol Gegelia, one of the leaders of “Lelo - Strong Georgia,” on Palitranews’ program “Day's Newsroom.”

As Gegelia explained, the events of October 4 represent “an expression of extreme political irresponsibility.”

Regarding October 4, I assess it as an expression of extreme political irresponsibility, which resulted in dozens of people being placed in prison instead of proper, rational forms of struggle. This is a major expression of political immaturity and irresponsibility from those who led people down this path, at a time when something much smarter could have been done against the regime on the same day - something that would have weakened it and taken away billions in funding. What happened, everyone saw. We should now think about what was better: everyone fighting correctly together, or the unfortunate outcome we saw, as a result of which people are being prosecuted,” he said.

He also commented on the accelerated handling of the so-called sabotage case, saying he believes Bidzina Ivanishvili is “very angry and disappointed.”

“The acceleration of the case shows that Ivanishvili is very angry and disappointed. He was fed myths that stabilization with the United States and the European Union would happen. For ‘Georgian Dream,’ stabilization means that Bidzina is not sanctioned. For them, stabilization means Mr. Bidzina being in a good mood. He is not in a good mood because we saw three visits from the U.S. State Department, there seemed to be some dynamics, but within two days everything went backwards. Kobakhidze came out and said, ‘don’t wag your finger at us, Rubio.’ Why? Because they failed to fit into the ‘Georgian Dream’ façade.”

He added that Ivanishvili has an unusual character and is not a rational actor.

“In general, Ivanishvili has a strange character. I wouldn’t be surprised if the guilty verdict in the so-called sabotage case and the imprisonment of opposition politicians puts him in a good mood, because he is not a rational political actor - he is a man of impulses. So I think he may even take great pleasure in this. Most likely, through arrests and escalation, he believes he is making himself more attractive, because he has deep and fundamental complexes. He has billions but remains insecure. He constantly feels that he is being fought against and that he has something to prove. He thinks, for example, that Kelli Degnan was involved in the Credit Suisse case. He has a sense of insecurity. Billions cannot protect you if you are not internally secure. I think he now feels that the U.S. does not consider him a ‘real man,’ and he thinks: ‘I’ll show you who we are - I’ll put all nine people in prison and then you can talk to me.’ That is the mentality he is in now. In reality, Ivanishvili has no logic at all,” Gegelia said.

He argued that “the ‘Georgian Dream’ members have no idea what they are doing and are simply implementing what Bidzina Ivanishvili and Russia want.” He added that the current regime will inevitably end and described those in power as “petty hooligans.”

“In reality, they are petty hooligans who ended up in power only because their predecessors made so many mistakes that it allowed Russian intelligence to seize the opportunity and bring in their man, who was immediately recognizable as whose man he was. Now it has become even more obvious, because they came and stayed through force. The myth that Ivanishvili is all-knowing is nothing like reality. The simple question is: how is a person judged? By who he surrounds himself with. Who did Ivanishvili bring? Everyone is now in prison for theft - one robbed kindergartens, another the army, another the elderly. That is what Ivanishvili is. He enabled these people, and now they are in prison one after another. A former prime minister and a defense minister are in prison. So he produces nothing except thieves. I still say today that these people are the same, or even worse,” he said.

Regarding statements by the Georgian Dream about a memorandum by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, Gegelia said the government is attacking the civilized world.

“They are attacking the entire civilized world while themselves not knowing how to read or write. Half of them do not even have degrees, and those who do mostly bought them. They have a president who still does not understand what he is doing. I feel sorry for him. One day they called him and said he should become president, and since then he has been in shock, wandering around stunned. They have a completely irrational prime minister who argues black is white and vice versa. They have no idea about O’Flaherty, economics, Brussels, or Trump. Aren’t they the ones telling us that Ukraine is dragging us into war? Why are they now shaking hands with Zelensky - was I the one who dragged us into war? Now Botchorishvili is going around European ambassadors saying she wants normalization of relations. Anyone who trusts ‘Georgian Dream’ has a problem with basic rationality,” Gegelia said.

He also criticized Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, saying she is not recognized internationally.

He added that the government is taking anti-state steps and worsening relations with partners, arguing that neither the European Union nor the United States can be replaced for Georgia in any meaningful way.