Lili Gelashvili, the lawyer of former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, has issued a statement ahead of the pre-trial hearing scheduled for October 19.

According to the lawyer, the hearing will mark the beginning of legal proceedings that, in the conditions of a fair, impartial court free from political pressure, should ultimately end in an acquittal.

Gelashvili claims that the 48 volumes of case materials contain only indirect testimony from Vasil Mkh e idze and testimony given by Juansher Burchuladze as evidence supporting the charges against Garibashvili, which she describes as incomplete.

“On Monday, October 19, the pre-trial hearing begins in the new, fabricated bribery case against Irakli Garibashvili. We are beginning a legal battle that, in the conditions of a fair, impartial court free from political pressure, must end in an acquittal!

“Why? Until now, the public has had to hear only the prosecution’s version, whereas the actual circumstances are entirely different. The prosecution has provided us with all the case materials, and in the 48 volumes of the case — yes, indeed, 48 volumes — the only evidence supporting the charges against Irakli Garibashvili is Mkh e idze’s indirect testimony and Burchuladze’s testimony, which is itself incomplete.

“I am not exaggerating! When the account presented by the prosecution relies on the testimony of just one direct witness, the public must know: what does this testimony establish? Is there independent evidence to corroborate it? How consistent is the testimony, and what interests might the witness himself have?

“These questions will certainly be answered during the substantive examination of the case, but one thing is already clear, is it not?

“The convicted individuals in question effectively bought their freedom by implicating I. Garibashvili. Their prison sentences were reduced by two-thirds, and some of them were released from prison!

“Such ‘arranged justice’ is direct evidence that this is not about the rule of law but a politically motivated order.

“It is precisely this circumstance, among others, that raises the central question: what really lies behind this case — legal grounds or political retribution?

“I am convinced that, in light of current events, there is no person with sound judgment — and, thank God, the majority possess it — who does not already have an answer to this question!

“The purpose of my post is not to examine the legal issues in detail, especially as important court proceedings lie ahead. However, I want to remind the public of several significant factual circumstances.

“Even before I. Garibashvili’s arrest, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced that searches were being conducted at the homes of various individuals and included Garibashvili among those named. The investigative authorities subsequently publicly displayed items seized during the searches, including gold bars and various valuables, without specifying whose homes they had been taken from.

“This was not a mistake but footage deliberately made public on instructions, with the expectation that the public would associate it with Irakli Garibashvili and become outraged. And that is exactly what happened.

“Although we, the lawyers, wrote about this, the mud had already been thrown! Some so-called ‘fortune-tellers’ continue to repeat this nonsense like parrots to this day.

“So what does this mean? If the case materials establish that no gold bars were seized from Garibashvili’s residence, it is entirely legitimate to ask: why was such an association created in the public mind? Who released the information, in what context, and why were the facts not clearly distinguished? This was not a media error — the footage was released by the investigative authorities themselves. On whose instructions?

“The answer is simple! What followed was the filing of charges, arrest, and a five-year prison sentence. Mr Garibashvili himself has written about this, so I will not elaborate further. But one thing is clear: he acted in the interests of the team of which he had twice served as Prime Minister, and above all, because of Bidzina Ivanishvili. He believed that telling the whole truth and making any statement could be perceived by the public as an act of betrayal.

“Time has shown, however, that the same team sacrificed him! One of the most morally reprehensible manifestations of this political persecution and moral pressure was the fact that a letter was sent to Garibashvili while he was in prison. Irakli published the letter, in which he was asked to confess to a new charge — and I emphasise, a new charge that did not yet exist — in order to eliminate even a one-percent possibility of his return to politics!

“I will attach this letter to my post and highlight several important circumstances. The letter was sent in July of this year. By that time, Mkh e idze, Tukvadze, and Burchuladze had already been questioned, and a verdict had been delivered. They had said nothing about Garibashvili receiving a bribe. The case materials indicate that they were questioned in August, between August 18 and 21.

“It is interesting: how could Mamuka Mdinaradze have known in July that Burchuladze would testify against Garibashvili in August? Irakli publicly wrote that Mdinaradze had sent him the letter.

“Even if I do not answer this question, you understand the implications, dear reader, do you not?

“And another question: how is it that, when Irakli Garibashvili publicly published the letter on social media and identified a specific individual — a senior official, Mamuka Mdinaradze — as its author, the Prosecutor General’s Office did not launch an investigation? The letter’s contents suggested possible criminal conduct. Was Garibashvili perhaps making a false accusation? Opening an investigation was not merely desirable but necessary, especially since every ‘fact’ mentioned in the letter subsequently came true word for word!

“Does that same letter not make it unequivocally clear that their interest was not in uncovering or preventing corruption, but in bringing a new, serious charge that would serve only as a means of politically neutralising Garibashvili? Does it not suggest that a former colleague behind bars was more popular and possessed greater dignity than they did? The public loved him, unlike them, and his name had to become synonymous with bribery and corruption. Is this not a classic example of politically motivated persecution?

“Does the dismissal of his family members from their jobs mean anything else? And is cancelling his meetings with his young children an expression of humanity?

“Today, as personnel and political changes are taking place within the ruling team, I ask: whose interests did Garibashvili’s political neutralisation serve? Who benefited from destroying his reputation? Were there internal divisions within the team that turned a legal case into an instrument of political struggle?

“Was Garibashvili the only main target, or would someone else be next? Who is that person? Are these questions not legitimate? Is answering them really so difficult?

“Finally, I want to address all public officials and government representatives who, in coordinated statements apparently made on instructions, criticise the tone of the letters and question the manhood of Irakli Garibashvili, comparing him to Mikheil Saakashvili.

“First, go to prison yourselves, quietly, for many years, on absurd charges, after being stabbed in the back by your own teammates. Then show your manhood, and then compare yourselves to Mikheil. Especially since those speaking up and shouting are people whose names were unknown before 2012 — indeed, some of you only appeared within Georgian Dream after the last elections — yet you dare to lecture a man whose family members were held hostage in prison by the previous government on one condition: that he renounce and distance himself from Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“You are certainly not loyal to Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream, or the people who personally experienced the bitter whip of the previous government. It is you who are destroying and undermining from within the genuine, dignified Georgian Dream, which enjoys the support of the majority of the people!

“The pre-trial hearing is on October 19! I began with this, and I will end with it. I do not want a return to the infamous 1937 purges or the nine-year regime that trampled on justice. I want to believe that our struggle for an independent judiciary was not in vain. I want an impartial judge, free from political pressure, who will not deliver a guilty verdict based on a single testimony exchanged for freedom!

“I want a court that will not pass judgment on Irakli Garibashvili but will not condemn itself and its own institution either! I want a state governed by the rule of law. Is that too much to ask?” the lawyer wrote.