Three individuals sentenced to 16 years in prison for murdering footballer Giorgi Shakarashvili

Three individuals - Archil Gagnidze, Nikoloz Revazishvili and Vakhtang Chikovani - have been sentenced to 16 years in prison for the murder of football player Giorgi Shakarashvili.

The sentence for two others will be announced on March 16.

• 17 detained in death of footballer Giorgi Shakarashvili
• 5 charged with premeditated murder in case of deceased 19-year-old footballer

After the announcement of the verdict clashes between the individuals gathered at Mtskheta District Court and the police took place, however the cause of the conflict is still unknown. 

Mtskheta District Court had been considering the case of Shakarashvili's murder for eight months during which 100 witnesses were questioned.

None of the five detainees pleaded guilty.

Shakarashvili’s body was found in the river Aragvi after a four-day search, on June 22.

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