Supreme court upholds previous verdicts in the case of murder of 19-year-old footballer

The Supreme Court of Georgia has not changed the verdict in the case of Giorgi Shakarashvili, a 19-year-old football player who was killed in 2020. 

The court on Thursday left three individuals in custody for 16 years each for intentional murder committed in a group under aggravating circumstances.

“It has been confirmed once again that on June 18, 2020, late at night, due to the confrontation at the country house in Mtskheta, the convicts brutally beat Shakarashvili on the bank of the Aragvi river and threw him into the river, as a result of which the latter died,” the prosecutor’s office said. 

Shakarashvili was found after a four-day search that involved 70 rescuers. 

According to forensic medical findings, Shakarashvili suffered 16 injuries 10-20 minutes before his death. Injuries developed with at least nine blows with a foot, hand or other hard-blunt object..

Five people were arrested in this case. In March 2021, three adults were sentenced to 16 years in prison and two minors to 10.5 years.