Zugdidi bank robber in western Georgia sentenced to 13 years in prison

Badri Esebua, who according to investigation had taken 43 people hostage in Zugdidi Bank of Georgia branch in 2020 and could escape with $500,000, was on Friday sentenced to 13 years in prison by Zugdidi city court. 

Esebua, arrested in February, refused to admit to the crime and claimed he left his village only for two hours the day of the robbery with a neighbor who he said “surprisingly died one month after the incident”. 

He told the court a police officer familiar to him had told him someone from his village had told the law enforcement he was a robber and that is why he went on the run. 

Esebua claimed he had problems with the law enforcement due to his critical social media posts.