Tbilisi City Court has sentenced Giorgi Okropiridze, charged with the premeditated murder of Lasha Makharadze due to personal motives, to pre-trial detention. Okropiridze will not be able to leave teh prison on June 12.

The judge"s decision was followed by commotion in the courtroom. Okropiridze’s mother and relatives left in protest, while Lasha Makharadze’s relatives met the decision with applause.

Giorgi Okropiridze was indicted by the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia yesterday. The investigation revealed that Giorgi Okropiridze, while in custody, told representatives of the Public Defender that he was abused by police officers both physically and verbally on September 22, 2014; as a result, an investigation into Okropiridze’s allegations was launched on September 25. In his testimony, Okropiridze named the officers who allegedly assaulted him.

Okopiridze talked about alleged abuse at today"s session as well. The accused said that he was under psychological pressure and verbally insulted in prison N6.
According to the investigation, Giorgi Okropiridze, while being transported from Tbilisi Penitentiary Facility No. 8 to a Batumi Penitentiary Facility, requested to remain where he was; otherwise, he threatened to harm himself. He also managed to persuade the Public Defender into believing that he fell victim to inhumane treatment by law enforcement, intending to highlight problems with the penitentiary system.

However, the obtained evidence proved that law enforcement had committed no such violent acts against him,”- said a statement from the Prosecutor’s Office.

The statement was made today"s by the Public Defender . Like GYLA and other human rights organization , the Public Defender says that in no case the prosecution activities should become abusive and speaks about possible pressure on the court

Previous cases of false allegations against Okropiridze hearing on July 28.