Former Georgian Defense Minister and convicted defendant Juansher Burchuladze, along with his relative, also convicted defendant Vasil Mkheidze, will serve part of their sentences in prison despite reaching a plea agreement. This is stated in a statement issued by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia.

“Taking into account the degree of cooperation between Juansher Burchuladze and Vasil Mkheidze and the investigation, the prosecution will submit motions at the court hearing for their first appearance as defendants, requesting that the court issue a judgment without a full examination of the case on its merits. This entails approval of the plea agreement reached between the parties.

Under the motions, Juansher Burchuladze will be found guilty under subparagraphs ‘a’ and ‘g’ of Part 2 and subparagraph ‘e’ of Part 3 of Article 338 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. He will be sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, of which three years will be served in a correctional facility, while two years will be suspended, with the same probationary period.

In addition, he will be fined GEL 1,000,000.

As for Vasil Mkheidze, he will be found guilty under subparagraphs ‘a’ and ‘g’ of Part 2 and subparagraph ‘e’ of Part 3 of Articles 25 and 338 of the Criminal Code. He will be sentenced to four years and two months’ imprisonment, of which one year and two months will be served in a correctional facility, while three years will be suspended, with the same probationary period.

In addition, he will be fined GEL 100,000.

It should be recalled that Juansher Burchuladze and Vasil Mkheidze have already been convicted in another criminal case, in which they were sentenced to the respective penalties,” the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office said in its statement.