Complete delusion, this is how Giorgi Lortkipanidze, the deputy of the former Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Vano Merabishvili and currently the deputy head of military intelligence of Ukraine, responds to the statement of the SSG, according to which certain groups and individuals, including him, are planning to destabilize Georgia.
As Lortkipanidze’s lawyer Shota Kakhidze explains in a conversation with IPN, the former high-ranking official has not been in the country for 8 years, therefore, he has no contact with Georgian politics and has no political goals.
“The statement issued today by SSG and the so-called facts mentioned there as if Giorgi Lortkipanidze is planning a coup d’état together with the named persons is complete absurd. There is no concrete evidence behind this and SSG has not presented it. In the past, we have heard similar statements from the government. You probably remember the so-called tires’ case, as if one of the political forces was going to make a revolution with tires, however, the government has not presented any kind of evidence to the public. Instead of the State Security Service and the representatives of the so-called law enforcement agencies answering the questions about what investigative or procedural actions were taken against the former chief prosecutor, who was sanctioned by the United States State Department a few days ago, we hear such statement regarding the revolution and the coup d’état, which is completely absurd.
Giorgi Lortkipanidze has been a victim of political persecution and false accusations many times in the past. He is being persecuted by the Georgian authorities on political grounds in two criminal cases. He has not been in the country for 8 years, he has no contact with Georgian politics. Accordingly, he does not have any kind of political goal in Georgia, he is engaged 24 hours a day in fighting the Russian Federation, he is involved in the war,” said Kakhidze.
To the question of what Gia Lortkipanidze himself says about this statement issued by SSG, the lawyer answers as follows:
“He called the statement issued by SSG complete delusion. Let’s be honest, his and my reaction to this statement was the same – it seems that the Georgian government is already convinced that our country will not be granted EU status and believes that this fact will cause a legitimate protest in the largest part of the Georgian society, and with some proactive statement, they are discrediting the rally that has has not yet taken place. Lortkipanidze rules out the factual circumstances mentioned in the statement, he has nothing to do with this fact and called this statement a complete delusion. He has nothing to do with Georgian politics, therefore, he has no political goal or task,” Kakhidze said.
When asked whether he rules out the possibility that in the near future the SSG will publish specific evidence, including audio recordings, the lawyer answers as follows:
“If SSG had such records, it would have started the briefing with this. On Baturin, he said that he saw him 3 times in total, he has no communication with him, therefore, no records can exist. Giorgi Lortkipanidze has nothing to do with the delusion mentioned in the statement. If you are asking me whether Giorgi Lortkipanidze can become a victim of another accusation, under the conditions of this government, nothing is out of the question,” said Kakhidze.
For information, according to the information of SUS, a certain group of persons operating in the territory of Georgia and outside it is planning to organize destabilization and civil unrest in Georgia in October-December of this year, the ultimate goal of which is to change the government by violent means.
According to the agency, one of the authors of the said plan is Giorgi Lortkifanidze, the deputy of the former Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Vano Merabishvili and currently the deputy head of the Ukrainian military intelligence, and persons of Georgian origin under his authority, including the former member of the third president’s guard, Mikheil Baturin, as well as Saakashvili’s close entourage. Mamuka Mamulashvili, the commander of the “Georgian Legion” operating in Ukraine, is a member.
For information, according to the information of SSG, a certain group of persons operating in the territory of Georgia and abroad is planning to organize destabilization and civil unrest in Georgia in October-December of this year, the ultimate goal of which is to change the government by violent means.
According to the agency, one of the authors of the mentioned plan is Giorgi Lortkifanidze, the deputy of the former Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Vano Merabishvili and currently the deputy head of the military intelligence of Ukraine Giorgi Lortkifanidze and persons of Georgian origin under him, including the former member of the third president’s guard Mikheil Baturin and also Saakashvili’s close entourage, Mamuka Mamulashvili, the commander of the “Georgian Legion” in Ukraine.