The Tbilisi City Court found Mirza Subeliani, a former employee of the Prosecutor’s Office, guilty of concealing a crime and sentenced him to one year and a month in jail.
Mirza Subeliani, who was arrested on June 9, 2018 in connection with the controversial Khorava street murders, was initially charged with failure to report crime and exertion of influence on a witness. But, according to the March 4 statement issued by the Tbilisi City Court, the judge pronounced sentence under a lighter charge of concealing the crime.
- Mirza Subeliani was detained following mass public protests over the Khorava street murder of December 2017, which left two 16-year-olds – Davit Saralidze and Levan Dadunashvili – stabbed to death.
- In a covert recording aired by Rustavi 2 TV in October, Subeliani suggests, that his detention was pre-arranged with the authorities to defuse the protest and the deal was made concerning the maximum sentence he would serve in prison. He says the arrangement was made personally with Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia. Interestingly he also mentions 13 months as a maximum sentence he was offered to serve.
- Refer to the full timeline of events on Khorava street murder.
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