The content of the statement made by Irakli Garibashvili is pathetic, meaningless, and devoid of any logic. I feel sorry for what happened to him, for the situation he is in, and for the reasons that led him into this situation,” Parliament’s First Deputy Speaker Gia Volski told journalists.

Volski stressed today that what Garibashvili discusses in the letter sent from prison is completely ruled out, both in terms of its content and in terms of the policies pursued by the Georgian Dream team.

According to Volski, the claim that there is some kind of threat against Garibashvili’s family has crossed every possible line.

Volski expressed hope that someone had misled Garibashvili.

“Perhaps someone misled him, or perhaps he became involved in some kind of dirty political scheme, which I do not want to believe. Either way, no matter how you look at it, there is no logic to be found.

“The most disturbing and troubling part is the suggestion that his family could somehow be threatened by someone under the circumstances that have existed in Georgia since 2012. Threatening a family is directly an attempt at discreditation.

“Moreover, it makes absolutely no sense to claim that you admitted to some crime and yet they would still leave you with a five-year sentence. Most importantly, what kind of campaign did Dito Chubinidze and Irma Inashvili allegedly conduct? They themselves say that they conducted no campaign at all. And that Garibashvili’s return to politics in five years could supposedly bring about enormous, tectonic changes in the political landscape.

“At first, it was said that the letter had been sent through a lawyer. The lawyer says that he did not submit the letter. Now they have turned to Mamuka Mdinaradze. This does not mean that the accusation against Bidzina Ivanishvili has been withdrawn. It is absolutely impossible that Mamuka Mdinaradze sent some letter with completely absurd demands. It is impossible — such a thing does not exist legally, logically, or politically: that Irakli Garibashvili should not claim the right to return to politics in five years.

“It is unimaginable to suggest a deal whereby, in order to obtain some kind of guarantee, you would take responsibility for a crime you did not commit, and we would stage a performance, with all of this supposedly written by Mamuka Mdinaradze and sent to Irakli Garibashvili. Such deals do not exist!” Gia Volski said.