The political persecution of Levan Khabeishvili continues once again; this is a textbook example of political persecution, said Irakli Pavlenishvili, Deputy General Secretary of the “National Movement,” assessing the detention of Levan Khabeishvili, the party’s Political Council Chairman, and the restrictions imposed on him by the penitentiary service.
As Irakli Pavlenishvili stated on PalitraNews’ program “Day’s Newsroom,” the case against Levan Khabeishvili is absurd and fabricated.
“Ivanishvili has detained many political opponents, but I can’t recall such a blatantly fabricated, absurd accusation, including such repression. They didn’t even try to ‘stitch together’ the case. They took a public political statement, and based on that statement – despite much worse things being said in the public space over decades – they detained a person. After that, we see that the basic rights prisoners have were taken away from him: the right to visits, phone calls, and correspondence. The reason is as absurd as the fabricated charge against him: to prevent him from influencing witnesses. We know who the witnesses are – SSS and MIA employees who allegedly suffered emotional pain from Levan Khabeishvili’s political statement. By the same logic, any public political statement could cause emotional pain to any public official. This is a standard characteristic of authoritarianism and dictatorship,” Pavlenishvili stated.
According to his assessment, this clearly shows that Bidzina Ivanishvili and his regime are scared.
“This once again indicates how afraid Bidzina Ivanishvili is of October 4 and even of Levan Khabeishvili, who is currently in prison. Levan Khabeishvili’s words, which inspired the Georgian people to fight, have proven true once again. Ivanishvili has acknowledged his own defeat, which is why he detained Levan Khabeishvili on this absurd charge. Otherwise, Levan Khabeishvili has always fought against Ivanishvili and his regime, but this agenda poses such an existential threat to Ivanishvili that he didn’t wait to ‘stitch together’ a case and detained Levan Khabeishvili,” Pavlenishvili stated.
As he noted, everything Levan Khabeishvili spoke about in recent days has been confirmed.
“Levan Khabeishvili didn’t hide that he was receiving information, including from former members of ‘Georgian Dream.’ Does anyone in politics think this is something new? When a regime is decaying, rotting, and turning on itself, its members leak information. This has happened everywhere and is happening now,” Pavlenishvili stated.
In the same context, he also assessed the Prosecutor’s Office briefing held yesterday regarding the detention of one individual for the legalization of illicit income amounting to an unprecedented $624 million USD and €35 million. According to Irakli Pavlenishvili, the case likely involves former high-ranking officials.
“This is a declared chronicle – the detention or expulsion of Liluashvili, Garibashvili, and Gomelauri, or the ‘stitching together’ of cases against them. There have always been ‘clans’ within Ivanishvili’s gang. The detention of members of this ‘clan’ began a few months ago, which Levan Khabeishvili announced, then consistently followed and named specific individuals targeted by Ivanishvili and Mdinardze’s ‘clan.’ Whether it’s Romeo Mikautadze or Juansher Burchuladze, these people were among Irakli Garibashvili’s closest allies,” Pavlenishvili stated.
He believes Ivanishvili is doing this because he is running out of resources. In his view, with the ongoing “repressions, Ivanishvili’s regime is weakening more and more.”
Regarding October 4, Irakli Pavlenishvili considers it the most popular date, as “the vast majority of Georgia’s population is fed up with Ivanishvili and his gang.”
“In reality, the vast majority of Georgia’s population is fed up with Ivanishvili and his gang. This has two main reasons: first, his gang has crossed every ‘red line’ – this is a poor country ruled by millionaires. People can’t cope anymore; pensions aren’t enough, they can’t afford medicine, and they’re forced to emigrate,” Pavlenishvili stated.
He also assessed the position of expert Gia Khukhashvili, who believes the opposition lacks the resources to change the government on October 4.
“We’ve been listening to Gia Khukhashvili and similar so-called experts for a long time, and these people don’t leave their homes or studios. With all due respect, if you want to talk about fighting or something else, you should have said it and been seen on the frontline at least once in all these years. I see this man either joining from home or in a studio – I haven’t seen him anywhere else. We are the people on the frontline, getting hit with stones, rocks, and gas. I was shot with nine bullets, and we saw what happened to Levan Khabeishvili on June 20. We are on the frontline and with the people, not just in studios or joining from home. Therefore, these people should use their expert knowledge for themselves – they are completely detached from reality. If we had listened to these people, Bidzina Ivanishvili would always be in power. First, this man brought Bidzina Ivanishvili, and second, what he says serves to strengthen Bidzina Ivanishvili’s regime. I would say the same about many other experts and philosophers. If we keep listening to them, Bidzina Ivanishvili will indeed always be in power. Regimes like Bidzina Ivanishvili’s are defeated with determination and decisive fighting, not by believing an electoral process can defeat a Russian dictator. For us, this man is a Russian dictator. This man even has sentiments toward Bidzina Ivanishvili. They should open their eyes and see that a dictatorship has been established in the country. Now we have a great chance – these people are crumbling from within. The Georgian people are angrier than ever,” Pavlenishvili stated.
Irakli Pavlenishvili: If we believe Gia Khukhashvili, Bidzina Ivanishvili will always be in power; this man brought Ivanishvili, and what he says serves to strengthen the regime – October 4 is the most popular date
