Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who is in prison, published a letter in which he said that his criminal prosecution was aimed at his political destruction, Georgia Online reports.

According to Garibashvili, the campaign launched last year under the pretext of fighting corruption had from the outset been intended to secure his imprisonment. He claims that he deliberately refrained from a legal fight and accepted the charges in order to avoid conflict with the leadership of the ruling team and not harm the interests of the state.

“I did everything to avoid confrontation with the team and a person dear to me,” Garibashvili wrote.

He said that instead he was faced with a “staged dirty provocation,” lies, and injustice. According to him, until recently he had not commented on what was happening and had “accepted this ordeal with full patience.”

Garibashvili also spoke about a letter that, according to him, Mamuka Mdinaradze sent him in July. In response, the former prime minister said that he did not intend to return to politics and proposed measures which, as he believed, should have allayed concerns about a possible return.

However, Garibashvili claims, he was told that even after that there remained a “1% risk” of his return to politics. According to him, that is precisely why he was required to admit to the corruption charges.

“That was the red line that forced me to take the most difficult step in my life,” Garibashvili said.

He added that now, since there is no other way out, he intends to begin the fight.