The Tbilisi Court of Appeal found the convicted actors Andro Chichinadze, Onise Tskhadadze and 9 others guilty and upheld the first instance verdict of 2 years in prison.

The above decision was made by Judge Tea Leonidze of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal.

According to Leonidze’s decision, 11 defendants were acquitted of participating in group violence, however, like the decision of the first instance judge, Nino Galustashvili, they were found guilty of group action. Accordingly, Judge Leonidze did not satisfy the appeal of either the prosecution or the defense.

The prosecutor’s office requested that the convicted persons be found guilty of participating in group violence, while the defense requested an acquittal.

The convicts will complete their 2-year sentences in a penitentiary institution in 8 months.

At today's trial, three convicts - Andro Chichinadze, Onise Tskhadadze and Valeri Tetrashvili - exercised their right to the final word.

For information, the Tbilisi City Court found 11 individuals arrested on charges of participating in organized group violence - Andro Chichinadze, Onise Tskhadadze, Jano Archaia, Ruslan Sivakov, Luka Jabua, Guram Mirtskhulava, Valeri Tetrashvili, Giorgi Terishvili, Irakli Kerashvili, Revaz Kiknadze and Sergey Kukharchuk - not guilty of the aforementioned charges, however, it changed the classification of the charges and found them guilty of participating in a group action. Judge Nino Galustashvili sentenced each defendant to 2 years in prison. The 11 arrested individuals were charged under Part 2 of Article 225 of the Criminal Code, which refers to participation in organized group violence, which provides for a term of imprisonment of 4 to 6 years as a form and measure of punishment. Judge Galustashvili reclassified the aforementioned charge to Article 226 of the Criminal Code, which refers to active participation in group action that violated public order.