Evidence supports charges against all three defendants in Niko Kvarchkhelia murder case, prosecutor

Prosecutors have presented evidence supporting charges against all three defendants in the murder case of Niko Kvarchkhelia, including video footage showing the movement of the Kakulia brothers near Besarion Zhvania’s residence, prosecutor Levan Vepkhvadze said on Thursday.

He claimed the investigation into Kvarchkhelia’s murder, which took place in 2021, has continued without interruption. Investigators obtained multiple records, including CCTV footage seized from Besarion Zhvania’s residence, which was subsequently examined by experts.

“Based on the analysis of the video footage and other evidence, evidence has been presented confirming the guilt of all three defendants, and the prosecution decided to bring charges,” Vepkhvadze stated.

He declined to discuss individual pieces of evidence in detail, saying they would be examined during the substantive court proceedings. However, he confirmed that the evidence primarily concerns the movement of the Kakulia brothers near Zhvania’s residence, among other circumstances.

The trial of the Kakulia brothers and Busa Zhvania is currently underway at Tbilisi City Court. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for today to consider the admissibility of the evidence.

Niko Kvaratskhelia, a 22-year-old technology entrepreneur and founder of Georgia’s first online content-sharing platform, Feedc, was shot dead in Tbilisi on September 15, 2021. Investigators claim the motive was revenge against Kvaratskhelia’s father, Gia Kvaratskhelia, over the 2001 murder of the Kakulia brothers’ father, Davit Kakulia