Georgia's third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, currently imprisoned, claims that leaders of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), particularly party political council chairman Levan Khabeishvili, are set to be arrested on charges of attempting a state coup.
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The former president released a statement on his Facebook page.
"I've received precise information that Ivanishvili's mafia-affiliated State Security Service (SSS) is planning a major new provocation. They intend to accuse the United National Movement, particularly Levan Khabeishvili, of attempting an armed coup, arrest a significant portion of our leadership, and charge them with state treason.
They'll use modern falsification methods to achieve this. I want to state unequivocally that both my comrades-in-arms and I categorically reject any violent actions.
Our goal is to form the broadest possible protest front and change the government through assertive, yet peaceful, actions. Anyone advocating otherwise is either an Ivanishvili plant or simply a provocateur."
Earlier on Tuesday, July 29, a Facebook page identified as Everything About the Police, and reportedly affiliated with Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, published and then swiftly deleted a post announcing the arrest of opposition figure Levan Khabeishvili.
The post read: "I can definitely tell you that the doors of prison have opened for Levan Khabeishvili." Its rapid removal followed the initial publication.
"This demonstrates complete disorganization within the criminal team, within Georgian Dream, and within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It highlights their absolute collapse, and they appear to be attempting to psychologically influence me now,” Levan Khabeishvili stated.
Recently, Khabeishvili has been speaking about internal conflicts within Georgian Dream regarding money. He claims that the party's founder and honorary chairman is demanding millions from former senior officials. On July 1, on TV Pirveli, Khabeishvili said that former Minister of Defense Juansher Burchuladze "is in a very serious situation in this regard."
On July 27, the Anti-Corruption Agency of the State Security Service arrested Burchuladze's deputy Giorgi Khaindrava, former head of the Ministry's procurement department Vladimer Ghudushauri, and Burchuladze's brother-in-law, Vasil Mkheidze. The prosecutor's office accuses them of embezzling ₾1,333,728 ($494,000) from the ministry.
