Petre Tsiskarishvili, General Secretary of the “United National Movement,” called the arrest of the party’s Political Council Chairman, Levan Khabeishvili, on charges of publicly offering a bribe, “absurd.”
According to him, the authorities could think of nothing else, and Khabeishvili was arrested under the charge of publicly offering a bribe, which Tsiskarishvili considers a “fabricated” accusation because “Khabeishvili gave them no reason for his arrest.”
“Absolutely unimaginable, absurd — the charge was fabricated by the regime simply because they could think of nothing else and Levan gave them no reason to press charges and arrest him. That’s why they invented this. It was a completely legal offer, which in every era and in every country is made as a reward for those who stand on the right side of history and do not oppress or shed the blood of their fellow citizens,” said Petre Tsiskarishvili.
Tsiskarishvili described Khabeishvili’s arrest as another act of political repression.
According to him, the government is trying to retain power by eliminating political opponents.
“In reality, they are at their end. This is a cowardly regime trying to secure power and remain in office permanently through imprisonment, removing people from the field, and ‘clearing the field.’ They do not want democracy or elections. This is absurd. There is no bribe here — it is a legal mechanism for issuing a reward to a public official. Levan Khabeishvili said that this would happen after the government changes through lawful budgetary allocations, as happens everywhere. Since they could think of nothing else, they charged Khabeishvili with this absurd article. This is a classic political arrest to ‘clear the field’ so Bidzina Ivanishvili can sleep peacefully. Hundreds of thousands of people are rising up so that this evil regime ends,” Tsiskarishvili said.
For context, other leaders and members of the “United National Movement” are present at the State Security Service building, where Khabeishvili and Murtaz Zodelava are being held.
For reference, the State Security Service arrested Levan Khabeishvili for publicly promising monetary payments to officials as a bribe.
The investigation is being conducted under Article 339, Part 2 of the Criminal Code, which carries a sentence of 4 to 7 years of imprisonment.
Petre Tsiskarishvili on Khabeishvili’s charge: This is absurd, this is not a bribe – it is a legal mechanism for a government official to receive a reward. This is a political arrest, aimed at clearing the field so Ivanishvili can sleep peacefully
