Tbilisi, Georgia: The Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office’s Juvenile Affairs Department has charged 4 more people with the facts of torture, robbery, and organization of group violence against a minor with preliminary knowledge by an organized group and participation in it.
An investigation conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs established that members of a group with a “fascist-Nazi” ideology, based on their ideology, organized violence against individuals with an unacceptable lifestyle and identity, including minors.
To identify and punish individuals with different views, sexual orientation, and identity, the members of the group, citing intolerance, attacked pre-selected victims in an organized and group manner, humiliated them, took away their personal belongings, physically and psychologically abused them, and tortured them. They also filmed the violence and shared the footage on various social media platforms and closed groups, causing severe physical, mental, and moral suffering to the victims.
The four individuals were charged under Article 225, Parts 1 and 2 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (organization of group violence accompanied by violence and participation in it), Article 178, Parts 2, “a” and 3, “a” (robbery by a group with prior agreement, which caused significant damage), and Article 144, Part 2, “g” and 3, “b” (torture by an organized group with prior knowledge of a minor) which, based on the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Code, provides for up to twelve years of imprisonment as a form and measure of punishment.
All four defendants have been convicted in another criminal case and are serving their sentences in a penitentiary institution. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is continuing its investigation to identify other individuals involved in the crime.
22 individuals have been charged with torture, robbery, and organization and participation in gang violence against a minor with prior knowledge by an organized group.
