Court in DNR sentences a Georgian mercenary in absentia

The Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) has sentenced in absentia a 40-year-old mercenary from Georgia, Georgi Akhalai. This was reported in the republican prosecutor's office on December 5.

"The court sentenced Akhalai in absentia to 14 years of imprisonment with serving his sentence in a penal colony of strict regime", - stated in the publication on the website.

He was found guilty under part 3 of article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict").

It is established that in the period from March to May 2022, the man arrived in Ukraine and underwent military training. In the period from May to August this year, Akhalai took part in hostilities on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) as part of the Georgian National Legion (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation).

It is specified that he received a reward equivalent to the amount of more than 2.1 million rubles.

Earlier, on December 2, the prosecutor's office of the DNR approved the indictment and sent the criminal case against Georgian mercenary Giorgi Gigaguri, who fought on the side of the AFU, to the Supreme Court of the region. He is charged in absentia under part 3 of article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Participation of a mercenary in an armed conflict"), and was put on an international wanted list and arrested in absentia.