The pretrial bail imposed on former Chair of the Chokhatauri Municipal Council, Davit Sharashidze, has been replaced with pretrial detention.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia reported that the decision was made by the Court of Appeal, which fully upheld the prosecution’s appeal.

“The Prosecutor’s Office appealed the Ozurgeti District Court’s decision that had imposed bail as a preventive measure on the defendant charged with group violence, the former Chair of the Chokhatauri Municipal Council. As a result of the appeal, pretrial detention was imposed as the preventive measure,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.

Law enforcement officers detained the defendant in connection with an altercation that occurred at a restaurant in Ozurgeti. He has been charged under Article 126, Part 1, Subparagraph ‘b’ of the Criminal Code of Georgia (violence committed by a group), which carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment.