Court sentences Zugdidi bank robber to 13 years in prison
Esebua entered a Bank of Georgia branch in Zugdidi in October 2020, initially taking 43 people hostage in the building. Photo: imedinews.ge
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The Zugdidi District Court on Friday found Badri Esebua, the assailant who took hostages in a bank robbery in the western Georgian city in October 2020 and escaped with half a million dollars, guilty and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.
The prosecution had requested the maximum punishment for Esebua, while the defence requested his release on a not guilty plea.
The Prosecutor General's Office had brought an additional charge against the defendant for purchase and storage of firearms and ammunition, in addition to the earlier charges of coercion, illegal purchase, possession and carrying of firearms and ammunition, organisation of a terrorist act and hostage-taking.
Esebua entered a Bank of Georgia branch in Zugdidi in October 2020, initially taking 43 people hostage in the building.
Negotiations with law enforcement ended in the release of most of the victims, with Esebua leaving the Bank late during the night along with the head of the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Police Chief - who ended up with the robber after negotiating to replace a group of civilians taken by him - and three other hostages.
He then released the remaining hostages and escaped, staying in hiding before his arrest in February 2023 in a special operation
In a separate case in December 2020, police arrested Esebua’s brother for illegal purchase and possession of firearms and ammunition, with the court sentencing him to four years in prison in July 2021.
The Georgian Interior Ministry on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of a man who was wanted since October 2020 for a robbery of a Bank of Georgia branch in the country’s western Samegrelo region, during which he took hostages and reportedly escaped with half a million dollars.
Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri has stated that he has reliable information that Badri Esebua, the Zugdidi bank robber who took hostages, escaped with half a million USD and has been hiding for eight months, is still in Georgia.
Brother of Badri Esebua, the Zugdidi bank robber who took hostages and escaped with half a million USD, was detained yesterday for the illegal purchase and possession of firearms and ammunition.
Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri has confirmed that the attacker on the Bank of Georgia Zugdidi branch yesterday took money from the bank and it was not state money as some media outlets said. Gomelauri stated that everything is being done to detain the offender. "Our primary goal was to save the hostages. Now [we are doing all we can] to detain the offender and hold him accountable,” Gomelauri said.