Ex-president Saakashvili: Garibashvili cannot confess to Ivanishvili's crimes without implicating himself

Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has questioned calls for jailed former prime minister Irakli Garibashvili to publicly expose alleged crimes by Georgian ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, arguing that doing so would also force Garibashvili to admit his own alleged involvement.

"Do you expect him to come out and admit, with his own words, not only his patron's crimes but automatically the crimes committed by him, and cut his own throat?" Saakashvili wrote in a social media post.

Saakashvili said Garibashvili was himself a participant in or executor of numerous alleged crimes committed during his time in government, making it unrealistic to expect him to publicly incriminate himself.

He accused Garibashvili of involvement in the death of eight-month-old Barbare Rapaliantsi, the deaths of Georgian special forces personnel who took part in the Kodori operation, and the death of programmer Tamar Bachaliashvili.

Saakashvili also alleged that an attempt was made on his life in prison during Garibashvili's tenure and accused the authorities of covering up crimes.