Georgia: The Prosecution Office of Georgia on Wednesday said that law enforcement officers have charged and arrested two individuals for a group intentional murder, robbery, illegal deprivation of liberty, and illegal acquisition, storage, and carrying of firearms.
The Prosecutor’s Officeof Georgia said that the arrest had been made on the specific charge of “murder under aggravating circumstances”, adding the arrested person also had a criminal history.
The body noted that according to the investigation conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it was established that on January 5, the defendants robbed two foreign citizens traveling from Zugdidi to Mestia and stole their mobile phones.
To cover up the crime, the defendants killed one of the victims in a group with a firearm. They shot the man dead and then threw his body into the Nakra River. The police were able to find the victim’s body in the river following a two-day search of the region.
According to the investigations it was later found by Nikolai Levchich, a Russian blogger based in Georgia. He identified the murdered victim as Viktor Solovyov, a Russian national. He published the account of the woman traveling with Solovyov on his Telegram channel, with the text reportedly being provided by her family.
The reports also revealed the age of both accused criminals. One was born in 1986, and the other was born in 1992. So, one was 38 years old, and the other was 32.
Law enforcement officers arrested them on the same day. They were charged under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Georgia:
- Article 109- Intentional murder under aggravating circumstances committed to a group against two or more than two persons,
- Article 179- Robbery committed by a group,
- Article 143- Illegal purchase of firearms,
- Article 236- Illegal storage and carrying of firearms.
It should also be noted that these articles provide for a sentence of 16 to 20 years or life imprisonment.
