Lawyer: We call on the investigative body to launch an investigation into the torture of Irakli Garibashvili

Irakli Garibashvili informed the court that he had been subjected to psychological and moral torture—prior to the commencement of the investigation into the case—with the aim of coercing a confession regarding a future charge of accepting a bribe. This statement was made to the media by Soso Baratashvili, the lawyer for former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, following the court hearing.

According to Soso Baratashvili, the relevant investigative body must initiate an investigation into the torture of Irakli Garibashvili.

"We call upon the investigative body to launch an investigation into an act of torture committed against Irakli Gharibashvili. The torture manifested as the application of psychological and moral pressure upon him. Although he did not name anyone today, he will certainly identify the individual who made the offer during the course of the investigation and will provide all the details to the investigators. This is not an unfounded claim; Irakli Gharibashvili can substantiate the facts presented in his statement. When a proposal is made—coming from a competent, authorized official—to confess to a crime that carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, this constitutes the very definition of torture under Article 144-prime," the lawyer stated.

According to the lawyer, the decision to close the court hearing is intended to prevent the public from learning about the baseless nature of the charges and the details of the case.

"Closing the hearing runs counter to Georgian legislation; it was not substantiated in any way by the prosecution and serves only to prevent the public from learning about the baseless nature of the charges and the details of this case. The case is politicized, and the charges are entirely unfounded.

The prosecutor’s motion did not cite a single specific fact or piece of evidence to justify closing the hearing. The Prosecutor’s Office is using the closure of the hearing as a tool to hush up the case and conceal its details from the public, the media, and human rights defenders. This constitutes a very serious violation.

It should be noted that this case is based entirely on another case—the one involving Juansher Burchuladze, Vasil Mkheidze, and others—which was not conducted behind closed doors, nor was the verdict delivered in a closed session. In fact, aside from two witness statements, this case is a repetition of the previous one. Naturally, we consider this a grave injustice. We will take counter-measures. We will keep you informed. We will use all of this wherever necessary and before the appropriate authorities," the lawyer stated.