UNM’s Zodelava: Khabeishvili arrest proves Gov’t sees him as ‘leader of peaceful revolution’

A member of Georgia’s United National Movement has claimed that the arrest of opposition politician Levan Khabeishvili had shown the authorities “now see him” as the leader of a “peaceful revolution”.

Murtaz Zodelava said on Monday the ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili had “lost his nerve” when the State Security Service detained Khabeishvili on 11 September on charges of publicly offering bribes to public officials.

“This arrest was clearly the result of Ivanishvili’s nerves failing. He realised that revolutionary processes were accelerating so quickly that he could not respond to them. Khabeishvili played a part in this, and by arresting him, they have effectively acknowledged him as the true leader of the peaceful revolution,” Zodelava said.

Khabeishvili, who chairs the UNM’s political council, has been placed in pre-trial detention.