Gharibashvili Lawyer Says Prison Visit With Children Was Canceled
By Messenger Staff
Tuesday, September 1, 2026
A lawyer for former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili said on Monday that a planned visit with his children was canceled last week, a claim rejected by Georgia's Special Penitentiary Service.
Lili Gelashvili told TV Pirveli that Gharibashvili had been due to meet his children at Rustavi Penitentiary No. 12.
"He had a scheduled meeting with his children and it was canceled. It was exactly last week. We don't know what the reason was," she said.
The penitentiary service said there had been no scheduled visit to cancel. It said Gharibashvili, who is held in a closed-type prison, had already used his two annual long visits.
"Irakli Gharibashvili is in the N12 penitentiary institution, which is a closed-type institution. According to its regulations, he is entitled to 2 long appointments per year," the service told Radio Liberty.
The rules allow prisoners in closed-type facilities two long visits a year, with one additional visit possible as an incentive.
The dispute comes as Georgia's Public Defender has raised concerns about prisoners' contact with their children. In March, Public Defender Levan Ioseliani asked parliament to change the law to improve communication between imprisoned parents and their children.
Ioseliani said in February that most prisoners, including jailed politicians, had limited means of communicating with people outside prison and could not meet their minor children.
Gelashvili suggested the reported cancellation was connected to pressure on Gharibashvili's family. She pointed to the recent dismissal of his brother-in-law, Levan Sanamashvili, from the National Probation Agency.
"Can I ask a counter-question - what was the reason they started dismissing his family members from their jobs?! Of course, it's all connected," Gelashvili said.
The Probation Agency did not comment on Sanamashvili's dismissal, saying it did not disclose information about individual employees.
Gharibashvili has also accused the authorities of targeting him and his family. In Facebook posts this month, he said Bidzina Ivanishvili and the government were responsible for their safety and alleged that he was being pressured to admit to corruption offenses to keep him out of politics.
Gharibashvili was charged on August 24 with accepting a 750,000-GEL bribe. He faces 11 to 15 years in prison if convicted.
