The Prosecutor’s Office is entering into plea agreements with several defendants in one of the cases related to the events that took place near the Atoneli Presidential Palace on October 4.
Based on information disclosed during a court hearing, plea agreements will be signed with eight of the 15 defendants in the case: Eva Shanshiashvili, Aleksandre Gogoladze, Gocha Katashvili, Sulkhan Abralava, Ramaz Jorbenadze, Jandri Tirkia, Genadi Kelikhashvili and Dato Gutskaya.
The defendants pleaded guilty during the hearing and acknowledged the evidence presented by the prosecution. Under the agreement, they will receive three-year suspended sentences. Once the court approves the plea agreements in the coming days, they will be released directly from the courtroom.
Meanwhile, plea agreements will not be signed at this stage with seven other defendants — Dr. Giorgi Chakhunashvili, Ia Darakhvelidze, Zakro Albutashvili, Davit Zhgenti, Konstantine Kokaia, Kakhaber Mzhavanadze and Davit Sturua — as they do not admit guilt.
During the hearing, the remaining defendants stated that they reject the charges and maintain that they were defending Georgia’s interests during the events of October 4. They said they would continue to fight the case.
All defendants in the case have been charged under Article 19-222(2)(a) of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns an attempted seizure or blockade of an object of strategic or special importance committed by a group. They have also been charged under Article 225(2), which relates to participation in group violence.
Ia Darakhvelidze, Giorgi Chakhunashvili and Eva Shanshiashvili remain free on bail while legal proceedings continue.
