Mtskheta District Court has convicted three adults accused of murdering Giorgi Shakarashvili. The judge sentenced Archil Gagnidze, Nikoloz Revazishvili, and Vakhtang Chikovani to 16 years in prison. The court also convicted two juveniles whose detention term has not been determined yet. The verdict of Z. Kh. and Akaki Kvrivishvili will be announced on March 16, 2021.
The verdict in the case of Giorgi Shakarashvili was announced by the Chairperson of the Mtskheta District Court and the judge hearing the case, Bidzina Sturua, a few minutes ago.
The announcement of the verdict was followed by noise from the defendants.
The family of the 19-year-old football player attended the announcement of the verdict.
The parties are already leaving the courtroom.
Giorgi Shakarashvili's mother said she demanded that all five defendants be severely punished.
The case has been pending for almost nine months. Five people have been charged with the premeditated murder of Giorgi Shakarashvili. Two of them are minors, which is why the sessions are closed.
In previous hearings, the detainees' families stated that they would appeal to other instances and the Strasbourg court in case of a guilty verdict.
Shakarashvili's mother has been questioned once. Except, in this case, she has not been to court hearings.
The family applied to the Ministry of Internal Affairs on June 19, 2020, about the loss of Giorgi Shakarashvili.
After four days of non-stop efforts, divers found young Shakarashvili's body in the river Aragvi.
The MIA detained 17 people over the footballer's death.
On July 10, the Prosecutor General's Office released an expert report stating that Giorgi Shakarashvili's cause of death was asphyxiation by drowning.
The forensic examination revealed that he had injuries caused by a dense-blunt object before death.
The General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia launched criminal proceedings on premeditated murder charges under aggravating circumstances.
