Jailed Ex-PM Garibashvili Accuses Georgian Dream of 'Setting a Trap'

Imprisoned former two-time Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, serving a five-year sentence from a January 2026 money-laundering plea deal, began a series of Facebook statements on Aug 17 alleging he was pressured to plead guilty to a new corruption charge on Ivanishvili's instructions to permanently end his political career. By Aug 20 he said the government 'set me up with a dirty provocation, laid an unmanly trap,' and claimed officials threatened to arrest his 75-year-old father. He said he had stayed silent out of 'absolute loyalty' to Ivanishvili but was now forced to 'fight.' PM Kobakhidze dismissed the claims as 'problematic,' noting Garibashvili had already admitted guilt. It is the first public break with Ivanishvili by a former close ally.