Businessmen brothers Davit and Giorgi Mikadze, along with their associate Giorgi Jokhadze, were sentenced to life in prison after the Tbilisi City Court found them guilty of organizing the contract killing for mercenary purposes of businessman Levan Jangveladze, the brother of criminal underworld figure Merab Jangveladze.
Judge Romeo Tkeshelashvili delivered the verdict on May 6 amid heavy police mobilization outside the court building. According to Interpressnews, which covered the hearing in a courtroom, Tkeshelashvili said that “the prosecution was able to substantiate the charges to the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Giorgi Mikadze has been in pre-trial detention since August 2025, while his brother, Davit, as well as Giorgi Jokhadze, remain outside Georgia and were sentenced in absentia. Georgia’s former prosecutor general, Otar Partskhaladze, is also wanted on charges of organizing Jangveladze’s killing, but is believed to be outside Georgia and to hold Russian citizenship. His sentence has yet to be issued.
Levan Jangveladze, the brother of Merab Jangveladze, known as a “thief-in-law,” was shot dead in Tbilisi in March 2025. Former riot police officer Gela Udzilauri was sentenced in October to life in prison after being found guilty of intentional murder and contract killing for mercenary purposes. He admitted to the shooting but denied that it was premeditated or financially motivated. Another figure in the case, Sandro Tsivtsivadze, under whose name the murder weapon had been registered, was sentenced to eight years in prison in February.
The defense side has contested the guilty verdict against the Jangveladze brothers, as their lawyer, Shorena Nikabadze, said the case rested on insufficient evidence, adding that the ruling will be appealed in higher domestic courts and, if necessary, in the European Court of Human Rights.
In his final address to the court, Giorgi Mikadze rejected the charges, insisting on his innocence. “Not for 5 million, not even if someone gave me 5 billion, I would not kill a man. I was raised in a family with traditions,” he said.
The previous court hearings have been shadowed by repeated controversy, with large crowds gathering outside the courthouse. Tensions flared on February 18, when clashes erupted during a hearing, resulting in the arrest of 15 people.
Separately, Otar Partskhaladze and the Mikadze brothers face additional charges related to alleged fraud and money laundering linked to the so-called scam call centers case.
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