Famous Georgian soccer player Giorgi Demetradze might face 7-year imprisonment. Demetradze case hearing is underway in the City Court. The witness interrogation is over. The court did not render the defense side’s request for the witness interrogation.
“To prove that Demetradze had no connection with the criminal world, we requested the interrogation of several neighbors, but our request was not rendered. Here I would like to add that the prosecution’s request of witness interrogation with the same motivation was positively decided by the court. What led to this decision of judge, we cannot understand,” – states Demetradze’s lawyer, Gigi Zirakishvili.
According to him, the convicts including Demetradze were interrogated at the last trial. They are not recognizing the imposed charge: “Demetradze still cannot understand the reasons of his imprisonment. He was in a joking mood at the trial and told the judge and a prosecutor that if they wanted to ask question about soccer he was ready to answer, but he knew nothing about the criminal world.” Besides he noted: “If the problem is the fact that I gave shelter to the son of my father’s friend Vato Kopiani, released earlier than determined term, this is another matter and you can tell me why he was released from prison.”
According to the lawyer, the prosecution did not have any real evidence in Demetradze’s case and there was no basis for his imprisonment according to the right of fair trial.
Famous soccer player Giorgi Demetradze, also Davit Gagnidze and the former official of Special Operative Department Kakha Misireli were detained on July 9th with the charge of “following criminal traditions.” In several days after the detainment Misireli was released under doctor’s notice.
According to lawyers, Demetradze and Misireli cases were separated from Gagnidze and Peikrishvili’s due to the additional investigative proceedings against Misireli.
Information Agency Pirveli