Ruling party Executive Secretary: no one from Gov’t blamed Rizhvadze of corruption

The Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, on Monday rejected claims that anyone from the ruling team ever accused Tornike Rizhvadze, the former head of the Government of Adjara, of corruption or criminal connections. 

Rizhvadze was admitted to Sagarejo hospital of eastern Georgia on 7 July with a gunshot wound to the chest. Doctors identified lung trauma, and he was transferred to Tbilisi’s First University Clinic and then to Turkey. 

The Interior Ministry confirmed a criminal inquiry under Article 115 - incitement to suicide - and charged Aleksi Akhvlediani, head of Georgia’s Maritime Transport Agency, under firearm negligence laws. Akhvlediani has since been released on a ₾30,000 bail. 

Rizhvadze, aged 36, led Adjara’s regional government from July 2018 until his resignation in April 2025. Georgia’s opposition-leaning media has claimed the incident had been related to internal confrontations in the GD leadership, alleged corruption and drug trafficking. 

Speaking to journalists, Mdinaradze criticized the coverage by opposition-linked outlets, particularly TV Pirveli.

“Tornike Rizhvadze is a person who has done a lot for our team and has truly contributed to Adjara,” Mdinaradze said. “No one from the Georgian Dream has ever accused him of corruption, nor of protecting drug traffickers. Such statements have only been made by the opposition-minded media”, Mdinaradze claimed. 

He further pledged to present specific allegations that the “United National Movement opposition and their affiliated media” had made against Rizhvadze over the years.