Seven people charged with terror-related crimes in Georgia found guilty

Tbilisi City Court has found seven men guilty for attempting to carry out terror-related crimes in Georgia.

Four people were charged with organising a terrorist act, illegal purchase and possession of explosives and military weapons. The other three have been charged for other illegalities in relation to the case.

Georgia’s State Security Service (SSS) prevented a terror attack in Georgia in July of the last year, which aimed to set off five explosions along a Russia-Armenia gas pipeline that passed through Georgian soil.

The group had been under surveillance by the SSS and the agency managed to intervene moments before any terrorist attack took place.

Those who were directly involved in the terrorist attack attempt received 12, 13 and 14-year detention, while those who were indirectly involved – 2, 3 and 7-year detention. 

The seven people had been under surveillance for five months before they were detained on August 20. The group planned to blow up several points of the Russia-Armenia section of the gas pipeline at Saguramo Village, about 21km from Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. 

The five individuals were arrested and detained on site when they tried to transport explosive materials and weapons from a hidden area in a forest near Georgia’s eastern Zhinvali-Shatili highway. 

Law enforcers also seised maps from the personal computer of one of the alleged offenders that indicated the exact locations on the pipeline where explosions were planned.