“Don’t you understand that the Rike Theatre built on Rike in Georgia is not Saakashvili’s whim? It belonged to you, and they are taking it away from you and demolishing it,” former President Mikheil Saakashvili said during a court hearing in the so-called sabotage case, commenting on the decision to demolish the “Rike Tubes.”

According to him, the so-called Rike Tubes Theatre was the creation of Italian architect and urban planner Massimiliano Fuksas and did not belong to anyone other than the Georgian people.

“Don’t you understand that the Rike Theatre built on Rike in Georgia is not Saakashvili’s whim? It was a brilliant creation by Massimiliano Fuksas, which was named the best project of the year worldwide. It belonged neither to Saakashvili nor to any individual contractor or artist - it belonged to you, and they are taking it away from you and demolishing it,” Mikheil Saakashvili said.

The Tbilisi City Hall has confirmed that a permit was issued for the demolition of the so-called Rike Tubes and explained that, under a 2025 government decree, “the development of the territory involves the creation of a hotel project, which may include demolition works.”