“Shoulder injury” sidelines Georgia’s ex-PM Garibashvili, Ivanishvili ally - questions arise
Why is former Georgian PM Garibashvili hospitalized?
Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party confirmed that its chairman and former prime minister, Irakli Garibashvili, has been hospitalized at Tbilisi’s American Hospital due to health issues.
According to the party, Garibashvili sustained a shoulder injury “during a workout,” requiring “minor medical assistance.”
The Georgian Dream party issued the statement after media reports suggested that former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili had been hospitalized with multiple injuries.
Two medical sources confirmed to JAMnews that Garibashvili is indeed receiving treatment at a Tbilisi hospital.
The reports were first circulated on December 10 by opposition TV Mtavari, which claimed Garibashvili had been physically assaulted by members of his own political team.
No specific individuals were named in the allegations.
“There are reports of an alleged physical conflict within the ruling ‘Georgian Dream’ team under Ivanishvili’s leadership,” says TV Mtavari.
Recently, Giorgi Bachiashvili, previously close to Bidzina Ivanishvili and described by media as the oligarch’s “personal banker,” claimed that ex-Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili “has not appeared at the party’s office for over two weeks.“
According to Bachiashvili, Garibashvili left the party and had direct conflict with current Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
Bachiashvili alleged that Garibashvili was dismissed as prime minister in February 2024 for refusing to initiate a second attempt at passing the “foreign agents” law.
The situation reportedly escalated further after the nomination of controversial Mihail Kavelashvili for the presidential post, which created divisions within the party.
Bachiashvili also pointed to former Justice and Culture Minister Tea Tsulukiani—one of the most prominent and controversial figures in “Georgian Dream”—as another key player in this internal conflict. She was widely believed to be in close proximity to party honorary chairman Ivanishvili.
On December 10, Giorgi Bachiashvili told opposition TV channel Pirveli: “Today it became known that Garibashvili is in the trauma center with various injuries. I don’t know what this is related to, but it’s a mysterious story.”
The fact that Garibashvili is being treated at the American Hospital is also confirmed by a source with Radio Liberty’s Georgian editorial office. According to the source, Garibashvili sought a trauma specialist due to an injury.
Irakli Garibashvili has twice served as the head of the Georgian government. He first became prime minister in 2013 but unexpectedly stepped down two years later in 2015. He was reappointed to the role on February 18, 2021, following the resignation of then-prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, who is now one of the main opposition leaders.
