Ex-PM Garibashvili is victim of system he helped create, ex-Pres Saakashvili

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili could become a victim of the prison system he allegedly helped create while in government.

“Karma is a terrible thing,” Saakashvili wrote in a social media post, recalling his imprisonment and alleging that safeguards and independent oversight mechanisms that existed at the time were later dismantled.

According to Saakashvili, when he was transferred from Rustavi Prison to Gldani Prison, he was allegedly assaulted during and after the transfer and subjected to intimidation inside the prison. He said the Inspector Service, then headed by Londa Toloraia, intervened and documented injuries and other evidence.

Saakashvili alleged that the Inspector Service was abolished by changes to the law ordered by Garibashvili shortly afterward, claiming that evidence related to his alleged mistreatment was subsequently lost.

He also said that after the abolition of the service, there was no independent investigation into what he described as his poisoning, while former Public Defender Nino Lomjaria established an independent medical council to assess his health condition.

Saakashvili said the council, made up of prominent Georgian doctors, raised concerns about his health and conducted a public campaign, after which he was transferred from prison to a clinic.

He further alleged that Polish doctors were allowed into the prison at the request of the European Union and that samples of his hair and fingernails were taken from them when they left. According to Saakashvili, the samples were taken to prevent evidence concerning his alleged poisoning from becoming public.

Saakashvili also criticized changes that followed Lomjaria’s departure, saying that Levan Ioseliani, who succeeded her as Public Defender, appointed a different medical council.

He argued that Garibashvili could now face the consequences of the system he had allegedly helped establish.

“If Garibashvili is mistreated, there will be no one to investigate it precisely because of his own actions. If he is poisoned - which he is hysterically afraid of - there will no longer be anyone to confirm it,” Saakashvili wrote.

He also alleged that Garibashvili had previously restricted visits by Georgian and foreign lawmakers to prisons and imposed restrictions on food parcels for prisoners.

Saakashvili compared Garibashvili’s situation to that of Soviet officials Genrikh Yagoda, Nikolai Yezhov and Lavrentiy Beria, who were ultimately victims of the repressive systems they had helped build.

“Garibashvili is just as much a victim of the system he created as Yagoda, Yezhov and Beria became victims of the repressive machine they built,” Saakashvili wrote.

He further predicted that Garibashvili would soon be silenced, face pressure over his property and see increased pressure placed on his family members, while adding that Garibashvili had already caused “great damage” to the Georgian Dream government.