Public prosecutor’s office offers the defendants on the acts of terror in Georgia a procedural agreement

Pronouncement of a verdict on the case of acts of terror in Georgia in 2009-2010 was deferred. The defendants’ attorneys are negotiating with Public prosecutor’s office on the conditions of procedural agreement.

On April, 24, the Appellate Court of Georgia tried the lawsuit of the defendants convicted for organizationof terror acts in the territory of Georgia. The court was expected to pronounce the verdict on May, 3.

Upon the request of the prosecution party hearing was deferred. Public prosecutor informed that he was negotiating with some of the defendants about conclusion of a procedural agreement, “Echo of the Caucasus” reports.

The attorneys explained later that the Public prosecutor’s offer did not concern defendant Merab Kolbaya.

“Nobody offered anything to Kolbaya yet and I think nobody is going to. Negotiations with him took place much earlier. 8 years of custody instead of 30 were discussed”, Merab Kolbaya’s attorney Mate Kharchamadze said.

According to the attorney, negotiations with Kolbaya were stopped two weeks before when during trial he retracted his confessionary statements.

“For instance, defendant Goderdzi Arkanya accused of cover-up of a crime in case of conclusion a procedural agreement was offered reductionof penalty term up to 1 year and 7 months and defendant Gogite Arkanya accused of committing acts of terror was promised 22 years. However, none of them agreed to these conditions and we are currently negotiating”, Gela Nikolaishvili, attorney of defendant David Kekutia, declared.

It should be reminded that in June, 2011, the City Court of Tbilisi brought a verdict to 15 defendants on the case of acts of terror in the territory of Georgia. Three persons sentenced to different custody terms: David Kekutia, Merab Kolbaya and Gogite Arkanya filed an appeal against the judgment of the City Court of Tbilisi to the Appellate Court.