Georgian police have detained Olympic champion and former Georgian Dream MP Zurab Zviadauri on charges of illegal possession of a firearm. Zviadauri was previously arrested in 2021 on charges of premeditated murder in a case that is still ongoing.
The Prosecutor General’s Office stated that a former MP was detained in Tbilisi on Tuesday, but did not explicitly name Zviadauri as the individual in question — OC Media later learned from an official source that he was being investigated. Two days later, on Thursday, the agency reported that the defendant was formally charged.
According to the investigation, Zviadauri had unlawfully purchased a revolver and was illegally carrying it, along with six rounds of ammunition.
The Prosecutor General’s Office stated that it will file a motion requesting pre-trial detention for Zviadauri. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.
On Thursday, after meeting with his client, Zviadauri’s lawyer, Datuna Modebadze, told reporters that the former MP was exercising his right to remain silent. He added that Zviadauri did not attribute his detention to political reasons.
‘He was stopped by patrol police while driving, and detained during a check’, Modebadze said, as quoted by IPN.
Modebadze further stated that Zviadauri was legally entitled to carry a firearm despite his status as a defendant in the 2021 case. However, he could not confirm whether the revolver seized by police was registered in his client’s name.
Zviadauri was an Olympic judo champion in 2004. He later served as a Georgian Dream MP between 2012–2016.
Five years after leaving parliament, he was detained in Georgia’s eastern Telavi municipality on charges of murdering 27-year-old Nika Kenchoshvili.
According to the Interior Ministry, the incident stemmed from a conflict that escalated into an exchange of gunfire. Shots fired by Kenchoshvili killed Zviadauri’s brother, Zviad Zviadauri, as well as another individual, while return fire from Zviadauri fatally wounded Kenchoshvili himself.
Zviadauri’s lawyers argued at the time that he acted within the bounds of necessary self-defence, a claim echoed by the defendant.
The Telavi Court subsequently released him on ₾50,000 ($19,00) bail pending trial, transferring the case to a jury for further consideration. However, no verdict has yet been delivered. According to IPN, the jury selection process is still ongoing.
Shota Kincha
