One sentenced to 11 years in prison in high-profile murder case of minors

Tbilisi City Court has found Mikheil Kalandia, age 20, guilty of the premeditated murder of David Saralidze in the high-profile murder case of two minors in Tbilisi in a school brawl back in 2017.

Kalandia was sentenced to 15 years in prison. However, when the incident took place in 2017, he was minor and the sentence was decreased to 11 years and three months.

Kalandia’s family has accused the judge of ‘being biased and delivered a politically motivated verdict.”

There is no fair court in Georgia. We will address the European Court of Human Rights,” Kalandia’s brother told the media.

In his previous statements Luka Kalandia accused Saralidze’s father of ‘making deals with state officials to send his brother to prison,’ with Saralidze responding that he ‘only wanted to see the killers of my son punished.’

Last year Tbilisi Court of Appeals convicted another adult, G.J, for the premeditated murder of Sarlidze and also sentenced him to 11 years and three months in prison.

The court said that time that G.J. committed the crime with ‘other, unidentified individuals.’

•  Court sends fourth to prison for Khorava street murder of teenagers in Tbilisi

The City Court verdict  in 2018 on the murder case of David Saralidze and Levan Dadunashvili caused controversy as the court verdict failed to say who killed Saralidze.

One of the detainees, G.B., was found guilty for the premeditated murder of Dadunashvili, while another detainee G.J. was found guilty for the attempted murder of David Saralidze.

The verdict led to street rallies and the resignation of then Chief Prosecutor of Georgia Irakli Shotadze.