Guilty: 15 years behind bars
Ex-head of Adjara Autonomous Republic guilty of murder, terrorism

The man who formerly ruled the government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara in western Georgia has been found guilty of four major crimes including murder and leading an illegal armed group, and has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars.

Yesterday Batumi City Court found ex-official Aslan Abashidze guilty of four charges and sentenced him to 15 years in prison in absentia.

He was found guilty of:

• abuse of official powers by a state-political official; 
•  forming and leading an illegal armed group ; 
• non-execution of the effective sentencing or other court decisions; and
• murder committed in exceeding the limits of necessary defence. 

The verdict comes after he was found guilty of embezzling millions of dollars in 2007. Abashidze is currently in hiding in Russia and has not served any time of his 15 year prison term for embezzlement.

In Court yesterday five other ex-top officials of the Adjara Autonomous Republic were also found guilty of several offences that took place under Abashidze’s term of leadership.

Abashidze, 78, led the Adjara region from 1991 to May 5, 2004. 

In mid-2004 Abashidze fled to Russia after a conflict with the central government and Georgia’s then-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who took office through the November 2003 Rose Revolution. 

In January 2007, two and a half years after Abashidze left Georgia, Batumi City Court found him guilty of misuse of office and embezzlement of $42 million USD and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment in absentia.

Meanwhile the five other former Adjara officials who were found guilty of various wrongdoings by Batumi City Court yesterday were:

• former Security Minister of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara Ioseb Gogitidze;
• former Interior Minister of Adjara Jemal Gogitidze; 
•  former Deputy Interior Minister of Adjara region Elguja Jincharadze;
• former Security Chief of Adjara David Khalvashi; and
•  former Head of the Administrative Division of the Ministry of Adjara Amiran Kurtskhalidze. 

After the court verdict was released yesterday, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia said official investigations and evidence proved Abazhidze was guilty of the charges against him

Yesterday this Court proved that on April 30, 1991 [Abazhidze] exceeded the limits of necessary defence and using a firearm he killed his deputy Nodar Imnadze in the building of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. 

Following this, between 1993 and 2004 Abashidze formed an illegal armed group, which he led. On May 2, 2004 Abashidze and several other people organised and carried out acts of terrorism, including blowing up Choloki and Kakuti bridges in Adjara. And in April 2004 he ordered the planting of mines along the Black Sea coast in a Chakvi near Kobuleti, which is also in Adjara,” the Chief Prosecutor’s Office said.

He also failed to execute a court decision and unlawfully deprived Tengiz Asanidze and others of their liberty,” the Office added. 

Yesterday Batumi City Court found the five ex-Adjara officials of the following crimes:

•  Ioseb Gogitidze: Sentenced to 12 years in prison. Guilty of forming an illegal armed group with Abashidze, organising and carrying out terrorist acts, embezzlement of state funds and illegal depravation of liberty. 
• Jemal Gogitidze:  Deceased. Guilty of organising and carrying out terrorist acts, embezzlement of state funds and physically assaulting and depriving a person of their freedom. The court did not impose a sentence as he is now deceased.
•  Elguja Jincharadze: Deceased. Guilty of organising and carrying out terrorist acts including the explosion of Choloki and Kakuti bridges. 
•  David Khalvashi: Sentenced to four years, six months in prison. Guilty of forming an illegal armed group with Abashidze, illegal dispersal of a rally and stealing, extortion and looting of property.  
• Amiran Kurtskhalidze: Six months in prison. Guilty of official negligence and embezzlement of state funds.