Former Georgian defence minister sentenced over 2004 police murder cover-up Details

The Tbilisi City Court has found former Georgian Defence and Interior Minister Irakli Okruashvili guilty in connection with the 2004 killing of Tbilisi resident Buta Robakidze by law enforcement officers, sentencing him to five years and three months in prison.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Okruashvili—who served as interior minister at the time of the incident—was found fully responsible for ordering the falsification of evidence after the 19-year-old was shot dead by police. Investigators established that officers planted an automatic weapon beside Robakidze’s body to portray him as an armed criminal, Caliber.Az reports via Interfax. 

Prosecutors said the ruling confirms Okruashvili’s direct role in orchestrating the cover-up.

The former minister is already serving an eight-month prison term for failing to appear before a temporary parliamentary investigative commission. The new sentence will be added to his current imprisonment.

By Sabina Mammadli