The News in Brief

Georgian Businessmen Sentenced to Life Over Tbilisi Contract Killing

Tbilisi City Court sentenced businessmen Davit and Giorgi Mikadze and their associate Giorgi Jokhadze to life in prison for organizing the contract killing of Levan Jangveladze, the brother of Georgian criminal underworld figure Merab Jangveladze. Judge Romeo Tkeshelashvili said prosecutors had proven the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Jangveladze was shot dead in Tbilisi in March 2025. The gunman, former riot police officer Gela Udzilauri, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison last October, though he denied the killing was premeditated or paid. A third defendant, Sandro Tsivtsivadze, under whose name the murder weapon was registered, received eight years in February.

Giorgi Mikadze attended Wednesday's hearing in custody, having been held since August 2025. His brother Davit Mikadze and Giorgi Jokhadze were sentenced in absentia, both believed to be outside Georgia. Former prosecutor general Otar Partskhaladze is also wanted over the killing but is likewise thought to be abroad and to hold Russian citizenship. His sentencing has not yet been issued.

In his final address, Giorgi Mikadze insisted on his innocence, saying no sum of money could have led him to kill someone. Defense lawyer Shorena Nikabadze argued the verdict rested on insufficient evidence and said it would be appealed through Georgian courts and, if necessary, at the European Court of Human Rights.

The trial drew repeated controversy, with large crowds gathering outside the courthouse throughout proceedings. Clashes during a February 18 hearing led to 15 arrests. The Mikadze brothers and Partskhaladze also face separate charges of fraud and money laundering linked to an alleged scam call center operation.



Georgian Finance Ministry Official Charged with Espionage

Georgia's Prosecutor's Office has charged Giorgi Udzilauri, a department head at the Ministry of Finance's Investigation Service and former public relations chief at Cartu Group, with espionage after he was detained by the State Security Service.

According to prosecutors, "a high-ranking civil servant employed in one of the state agencies, in order to receive material benefits, to the detriment of the interests of Georgia, on the instructions of a foreign intelligence service, systematically collected and transmitted to them various types and categories of information." The statement did not name the foreign intelligence service involved.

Udzilauri faces up to 12 years in prison under Part 1 of Article 314 of the Criminal Code. The Prosecutor's Office said it would apply to the court "within the time limit established by law" to seek pre-trial detention as a preventive measure.