Georgian ex-PM Garibashvili's lawyer: his meeting with children was cancelled

Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili had a scheduled meeting with his children cancelled last week, according to his lawyer Lili Gelashvili.

She said she did not know the reason for the cancellation but suggested it was connected to the dismissal of members of Garibashvili's family from their jobs.

“He had a meeting scheduled with his children, and it was cancelled. The meeting had been scheduled for last week. We do not know what caused it. I can ask a counter-question - what was the reason, for example, for beginning to dismiss members of his family from their jobs? Of course, all of this is connected,” Gelashvili said.

According to the lawyer, Garibashvili was prepared to meet his children and was angry and hurt when the meeting was cancelled.

“I saw Irakli at the time, and he was very angry, one might say hurt, because he had been prepared to meet his children,” she said.

The Prosecutor's Office has brought a new charge against former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili over allegedly accepting a particularly large bribe as part of a group acting under a prior agreement. The charge carries a prison sentence of 11 to 15 years.