TBILISI. Aug 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Rebels who violated the Russian-Georgian border on August 3 have been sentenced to three months in pretrial custody.
This ruling was provided on Tuesday by the Vake-Saburtali District Court in Tbilisi on a petition filed by the State Security Ministry.
Six defendants attended the proceedings, which continued for three hours.
One Chechen national is currently in the hospital. He was sentenced in abstentia.
According to Georgian legislation, the Chechens may face up to ten years in jail for armed violation of the border. They may be handed over to Russia should a corresponding decision be made, Judge Mamuka Nozadze told Interfax-Military News Agency.
As for the second group, which crossed the border on August 4, the Georgian Security Ministry has 72 hours to file a petition with judicial authorities to seek a court ruling regarding these people.
Georgian Prosecutor General Nuzgar Gabrichidze said earlier that it was necessary to study materials Russia was going to provide in order to make a decision on the detainees' extradition. If the materials provide substantial proof of the detainees' criminal acts, their extradition to Russia will be considered, Gabrichidze said.