All minors charged with violence in case of 19-year-old footballer’s death found guilty

All six minors charged with group violence and illegal deprivation of liberty in the high-profile case of the death of 19-year-old footballer Giorgi Shakarashvili have been found guilty by a Mtsketa district court earlier today. 

A judge will announce the term of their imprisonment in the coming days. 

The crime is punishable by four to 10 years in prison. However, per the Juvenile Justice code, the term may be decreased. 

Shakarashvili went missing while at a friend’s birthday party in Mtskheta, a town outside of Tbilisi, early on June 19, 2020.

His body was found in the river Aragvi after a four-day search on June 22.

In total 17 individuals have been detained in the case. 

Five of the 17 detainees have been charged with premeditated murder. 

The Georgian Chief Prosecutor's Office says that the five detainees attacked and then threw Shakarashvili into the Aragvi River, while the remaining 12 detainees were involved in group violence and kidnapping one of the guests of the same birthday party.