The Tbilisi City Court has chosen a measure of restraint in the form of imprisonment for Georgian citizen Malkhaz Paksashvili, who was detained on Saturday, for participating in battles on the side of the Islamic State terrorist group, Prosecutor Maya Silagadze said.
⠀
The citizen was detained on Saturday morning. The case is classified as “secret”, the hearing was held behind closed doors.
⠀
According to the prosecutor’s office, Paksashvili was in the ranks of a terrorist organization in 2013-2015 and actively participated in hostilities.
⠀
“The Tbilisi City Court has chosen a measure of restraint for Malkhaz Paksashvili in the form of imprisonment. He has been in Georgia for several years. After receiving evidence that the accused joined the Islamic State terrorist organization and participated in its various operations, the prosecution filed a petition with the court on the issuance of a decision on his detention, and he was detained,” Silagadze told reporters.
⠀
According to her, the accused pleads not guilty and refuses a lawyer. The detainee faces 10 to 17 years in prison.
⠀
Family members of the arrested person in a conversation with journalists categorically reject the accusation and claim that Paksashvili was not in Georgia in 2013-2015, since he was working in Turkey.
