Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Jail over MP Car Blast

Tbilisi City Court found Darcho Khechuashvili guilty of attempted murder of former opposition MP Givi Targamadze, and sentenced him to 18 years of imprisonment in absentia.

The court said Khechuashvili, a former employee of the Interior Ministry, together with his “unidentified” accomplice, plotted and carried out a car explosion targeting Givi Targamadze, in October 2016, just days before Georgia’s parliamentary elections.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Darcho Khechuashvili went into hiding and is currently under Interpol’s red notice.

The conviction comes a year after another suspect – Boris Chagunava – was found guilty in the same case, and was sentenced to six years’ conditional imprisonment.

The Prosecutor’s office said investigation for identifying other case suspects is still underway.

The car carrying the former opposition MP exploded in the center of Tbilisi on October 4, 2016. Targamadze and two by-passers sustained bodily injuries, but survived the blast.

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