Office of Chief Prosecutor of Georgia would like to inform the public about the new developments in the case of Zurab Kurtsikidze, Giorgi Abdaladze, Irakli Gedenidze and Natia Gedenidze.
Based on the evidence in the case, the prosecution believes that the Main Intelligence Unit of General Headquarters of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (commonly known as GRU) recruited Zurab Kurtsikidze and Giorgi Abdaladze. Under the instructions of the GRU officers, Zurab Kurtsikidze and Giorgi Abdaladze illegally obtained secret documents and information from various Georgian state agencies and provided them to the GRU officers. Irakli and Natia Gedenidze assisted Zurab Kurtsikidze and Giorgi Abdaladze in exchange for a certain payment.
Charges against Zurab Kurtsikidze, Giorgi Abdaladze, Irakli Gedenidze and Natia Gedenidze are supported inter alia by the following evidence:

1. Secret documents and information, illegally obtained from various official agencies of Georgia, seized by the investigation in full conformity with Georgian and international law from the places of residence and the computers belonged to the defendants.

2. Extracts from the telephone conversations between some of the defendants and the representatives of the GRU obtained by the investigation in full conformity with Georgian and international law.

3. The detailed testimonies given by the defendants in the presence of their lawyers.
In the course of the investigation, the defendants voluntarily, in the presence of their lawyers and with full protection of their procedural rights pleaded guilty and provided the investigation with the information of particular importance for our national security. The defendants provided the Counter-Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Interior of Georgia with details, such as the identities of the intelligence officers of the special services of the Russian Federation operating in Georgia, the persons being in contact with them as well as the organizations acting under the cover of the special services of the Russian Federation; specific plans and goals of these services directed against the interests of Georgia; the methods, rules and practices of information gathering and sharing.
The Court in charge of the present criminal case has been informed about the great value of the information provided by the defendants to the investigation.

Due to the useful cooperation of the defendants with the investigation, the Office of Chief Prosecutor of Georgia decided to conclude plea agreements with the defendants. Accordingly, the Office of Chief Prosecutor will file a motion to the court on the application of conditional sentences against Zurab Kurtsikidze, Giorgi Abdaladze, Irakli Gedenidze and Natia Gedenidze.

The motion along with the additional information about the evidence obtained in the case as well as part of a testimony of Giorgi Abdaladze is available in Georgian on our website at www.justice.gov.ge . The part of Giorgi Abdaladze's testimony is published upon his consent.