“Better late than never. ‘Mr Okruashvili’ has been sentenced to seven years for Buta’s case,” wrote Ia Metreveli, mother of Amiran (Buta) Robakidze, 19-year-old shot dead by law-enforcement officers during the special operation in Didube district of Tbilisi in 2004, on social media.

According to Ia Metreveli, the court acquitted ex-Justice Minister Zurab Adeishvili, which she finds regrettable.

Metreveli stated that all other structures operated under Adeishvili’s direction and expressed hope that he would be convicted on appeal.

“Better late than never. ‘Mr Okruashvili’ has been sentenced to seven years for Buta’s case, though I’m saddened that Adeishvili was somehow acquitted. All other structures operated under Adeishvili’s direction. Whatever orders Misha (ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili) gave, Adeishvili had everyone carry them out. I retain hope that the next court instance will rule a conviction for him. Also, Mr Donadze [Guram Donadze, then chief of the Interior Ministry’s press service and public relations department], the ‘director’ of all misfortunes, will be held accountable; he even dared to appear at the protest rallies. He thought they would win. I call upon the Prosecutor’s Office to consider my rightful request and enforce justice fully,” writes Ia Metreveli.

Tbilisi City Court sentenced Irakli Okruashvili to seven years’ imprisonment, though amnesty applied to the article, reducing his final sentence to five years and three months.

“Irakli Okruashvili’s charges were fully substantiated. We can say that on November 23, 2004, it was the then Minister of Internal Affairs who gave the order for senior Ministry officials to falsify a criminal case, plant weapons on innocent people, and present Buta Robakidze and his five friends as an armed group that attacked police, resulting in Buta Robakidze’s liquidation due to armed resistance. We have now established with sufficient evidence that the facts were completely falsified. The then Prosecutor General faced charges, which the prosecution disputed, for not conducting the falsified investigation lawfully. The second defendant, Zurab Adeishvili, was fully acquitted of the charges presented. The court explained that insufficient evidence was presented in the case,” stated prosecutor Lasha Kotrikadze.