Court Finds Georgian Guilty of Ties to ISIS

TBILISI – Tbilisi’s City Court ruled found guilty a 29-year-old David Borchashvili guilty of having ties to ISIS, Georgia’s Prosecutor Office announced Tuesday afternoon.

According to the ruling, Borchashvili will spend at least 12 years behind bars in accordance with Georgia’s strict anti-terror laws.

“The evidence submitted by the prosecution clearly proved that Borchashvili had connections to ISIS. He joined the terrorist organization in Syria and participated in several of ISIS’ combat operations,” the statement said.

Georgia’s Counterterror Division arrested Borchashvili in November 2015, immediately after he returned from Syria.

Borchashvili’s lawyer, Gela Nikolaishvili, admitted that his client had been in Syria, but denied that he had any ties to ISIS.

Nikolaishvili told local TV station, Rustavi 2, that his client had spent time with fighters opposed to embattled Syrian President Bashir al-Assad’s regime and the Islamic State. “He spent time with the Free Syrian Army, which is supported by most Western countries. But he had no contact at all with ISIS,” said Nikolaishvili.

Borchashvili’s family said he originally went to Turkey for work a year ago, though they could not confirm if Borchashvili had visited Syria.

Following the arrest of Borchashvili, representatives from ISIS released a video that showed fighters speaking in Georgian and addressing the small South Caucasus nation’s Muslim minority.

In the video, the ISIS militants urge the viewers to support the ‘Islamic Caliphate’.

Borchashvili’s family held a held a protest in his native Pankisi Gorge, demanding that the court’s ruling be overturned.

Pankisi is an isolated mountain region of Georgia, historically populated by over 10,000 ethnic Chechens. The region has been a hotbed for ISIS recruits in recent years, as several young men from the valley have joined the terrorist group’s ranks after ginger-bearded local resident Tarkhan Batirashvili – known by his nom de guerre Abu Omar al-Shishani (Omar the Chechen) – became one of ISIS’ top field commanders.

Shishani was reportedly killed in July after being targeted by US special forces in al-Shirqat, Iraq.

By Tamar Svanidze

Edited by Nicholas Waller