Kirtskhalia Dismisses Letters Attributed to Jailed Ex-PM Garibashvili as “Absurd Political Insinuations”

Georgia’s Parliamentary Majority Leader Irakli Kirtskhalia has dismissed a series of purported letters attributed to imprisoned former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, saying the controversy surrounding them resembles a “sinister fairy tale” rather than a matter warranting a serious political response.

Speaking on Imedi LIVE, Kirtskhalia said he had stopped following the publications after the first two letters and did not know how many had subsequently appeared under Garibashvili’s name.

“Frankly, everything that has unfolded, these so-called letters, increasingly resembles the plot of some sinister fairy tale. After the first two letters, I do not even know how many more were published in his name,” Kirtskhalia said.

He argued that the issue should not be treated as a serious subject for political debate, although he said the letters had provided what he described as the “collective United National Movement” with a new political narrative.

“We are talking about a former prime minister of the country, a former member of our team who is now in prison. These unserious actions do not deserve some kind of serious political response,” he said.

Kirtskhalia also referred to the death by suicide of an individual in connection with subsequent developments surrounding the controversy, while stressing that he would not accuse anyone of involvement without evidence.

“Until something is proven, I cannot accuse anyone of having any connection to it. But one thing is clear: these statements and these letters have provided this agent network with another item on its political agenda. I repeat the entire story is completely absurd,” he said.

Turning specifically to Garibashvili’s case, Kirtskhalia said the legal proceedings should be clearly separated from attempts to politicise the issue.

“When it comes to Mr Garibashvili, we must draw a very clear distinction regarding the legal aspect. The public has seen what happened, including his confession, and we have now seen further developments concerning a specific corruption case. It is deeply unfortunate that we even have to discuss this,” Kirtskhalia said.

“The second issue is the attempt to politicise everything surrounding the case and create political insinuations around it,” he added.