Lawyer Mariam Gogoreliani does not rule out that the former head of the State Security Service, the accused Grigol Liluashvili, may give testimony at the court hearing, since, according to the lawyer, he has not committed a crime and considers himself innocent. The lawyer stated this to journalists before the start of the court hearing.

According to the lawyer, at today’s court hearing the prosecution will complete the examination of the evidence, and at the next hearing the examination of the defence evidence will begin. She also said that the defence has many witnesses to be questioned in the case.

“As for (Grigol Liluashvili) speaking, if you mean questioning at the court session, we have not yet taken a decision on this issue. Whether Grigol Liluashvili will give testimony at the court session - it is possible that he may even give testimony, since he considers himself innocent and has not committed a crime. It is possible that he may also speak about this in connection with his questioning,” Mariam Gogoreliani stated.

As for the question whether Grigol Liluashvili also received a letter of the kind that the former Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili received, the lawyer explained that Liluashvili has not received any letter and that they have not had any informal negotiations with “Georgian Dream” either.

“We have not had any informal negotiations. I am defending his interests in the criminal case and, as far as is known to me, no informal negotiations are taking place with him. Accordingly, I cannot make any comment on this and cannot draw any parallel with Irakli Gharibashvili. Grigol Liluashvili does not consider himself guilty; he voices his positions during the court process. Mr. Grigol Liluashvili does not consider himself guilty in any part, neither in the Romeo Mikautadze episode nor in any other episode on which charges have been brought against him,” Mariam Gogoreliani stated.

As for the statement made by the investigation that the former Deputy Minister of Economy, Romeo Mikautadze, used to take money to Grigol Liluashvili in his office, the lawyer asserts that this money was not going to Liluashvili.

“It was definitely not going there. Mr. Romeo was probably driven by his own interests. As far as is known to us, negotiations regarding a plea agreement are even under way with him,” Mariam Gogoreliani states.

For information, the former head of the State Security Service, Grigol Liluashvili, who came for questioning at the Prosecutor’s Office, was detained on 23 December 2025. He is charged under Article 338, Part 2, sub-paragraph “g” and Part 3, sub-paragraph “e” of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which means the taking of a particularly large amount of a bribe by a group acting by prior agreement and provides for a penalty of deprivation of liberty from 11 to 15 years.