Five sentenced to 5-9 years in prison in high-profile murder case of footballer

Four individuals have been sentenced to five years in prison and one individual to nine years in prison for group violence and kidnapping in the high-profile murder case of 19-year-old footballer Giorgi Shakarashvili last year. 

In total 17 individuals have been detained in the case. 

Five of the 17 detainees have been charged with premeditated murder and have been sentenced to 10 and 16 years in prison earlier this month. 

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

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.