Police arrested 16 individuals, including 10 minors, who are part of a “radical fascist groups” and who have “physically and psychologically abused people of various ages with extreme cruelty,” Tbilisi Police Chief Vazha Siradze announced at a January 16 briefing.
The suspects “referred to themselves as neo-Nazis and adhered to fascist ideology,” Siradze said, adding, “They displayed radical attitudes toward their victims and used extreme cruelty against those who did not agree with their ideology in order to increase their influence and notoriety.”
“The members of the gang recorded on their mobile phones photos and videos depicting violence against victims, degrading treatment, and physical and psychological abuse, and posted them on various online platforms,” Siradze said, adding that “more than ten individuals, including four minors,” are victims.
Police seized “mobile phones, masks, various electronic devices, items bearing Nazi symbols, and sonic and bladed weapons” during the searches of their homes, he added.
The case is being investigated under Criminal Code articles related to “inhuman treatment committed by a group against a minor with premeditation,” offenses punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Siradze said the leaders of similar radical groups, Levan Abesadze and Davit Jafarov, are already serving prison sentences after being arrested several months ago, alongside seven other members. He said that the ongoing investigation revealed that “other members of these ideologically motivated groups continued violent actions.”
On December 30, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced nine individuals, whom authorities described as members of a “fascist ideology gang,” to years in prison after finding them guilty of inhuman and degrading treatment of a minor.
The court found that members of the gang lured the minor to an abandoned building in Tbilisi under a premeditated plan, forced him to kneel, subjected him to physical and verbal abuse, and coerced him to apologize to the gang’s leader during a video call. They later posted the footage on social media.
Three adult defendants were sentenced to ten years in prison, three minors under 16 received six years and eight months, and three defendants under 18 were sentenced to seven and a half years.
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