Jailed ex-PM Garibashvili attacking ruling authorities to evade responsibility, MP Makhashvili

People who abuse their positions and public finances will eventually face the law and be held accountable, Georgian Parliament’s European Integration Committee Chairman Levan Makhashvili said on Wednesday, referring to jailed former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

Makhashvili said Garibashvili appears likely to continue “attacks against the state in an attempt to avoid responsibility.”

“There are numerous witnesses and specific facts. We can speak about the facts, but it seems that Irakli Garibashvili will continue this kind of attack against the state in order to avoid responsibility,” Makhashvili said.

He added Garibashvili’s recent letters contain “empty words,” while witnesses have implicated him in alleged criminal activity.

“If he knows something, here, the media is in front of him,” Makhashvili said, adding that claims concerning a lack of access to legal representation or the courts should be supported by evidence.

“People in Georgia are not tried by lynching; everything requires evidence,” he said.

Makhashvili also stressed that corruption is a concealed crime and is not normally committed publicly in front of television cameras. He claimed the government would not retreat from enforcing the law regardless of the position previously held by a suspect.

“When everything is laid out on the table, the state and the law will not retreat,” he said.

Garibashvili was recently charged with allegedly accepting a particularly large bribe as part of a group. Prosecutors have alleged that he received 750,000 lari in cash in connection with Defense Ministry procurement contracts.