UNM: jailed former chair Khabeishvili will be freed, help rebuild Georgia

Irakli Pavlenishvili, head of the collegial governing body of Georgia’s opposition United National Movement (UNM), has said the party’s jailed former chairman Levan Khabeishvili will ultimately be freed and continue working to “rebuild” the country.

Addressing Khabeishvili on the first anniversary of his arrest on Friday, Pavlenishvili described him as a “personal political prisoner” of the ruling Georgian Dream party and said he had been jailed on unprecedented grounds.

“One year has passed since Levan Khabeishvili was imprisoned. He is in prison on unprecedented charges in Georgia’s history. He is being prosecuted over a political statement, and the judge did not even hide in his decision that he was imprisoned solely because of a political promise,” Pavlenishvili said.

He attributed Khabeishvili’s prosecution to his “anti-corruption activities” and his criticism of alleged corruption schemes involving the government and individuals close to Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Pavlenishvili also linked Khabeishvili with exposing alleged schemes involving the circumvention of international sanctions, as well as alleged illicit activities linked to the State Security Service and figures associated with Ivanishvili. 

He further said Khabeishvili had restored among Georgians a belief in the possibility of defeating Ivanishvili’s “Russian regime.”

“The struggle he is waging together with the Georgian people for Georgia’s freedom will inevitably end in victory. All corrupt individuals and criminals will be punished, and Levan, together with his fellow fighters, will begin rebuilding this country,” Pavlenishvili said.