The two-day preliminary hearing on the physical and psychological violence committed by the accused Nikoloz Basilashvili against his ex-wife Neli Dorokashvili in the presence of a minor ended yesterday.

The judge explained that the evidence presented by the prosecutor's office provides a high degree of probability for the presumption that a guilty verdict would be handed down against Nikoloz Basilashvili on all five episodes.

Due to the high public interest in this case, we provide the information about the ongoing processes.

In the criminal case, the evidence obtained by the prosecution amounts to 11 volumes. These include evidence such as audio and video materials, the testimony of dozens of witnesses, numerous written pieces of evidence, medical and psychological examination findings that confirm the existence of physical damage to the victim's body, and psychological harm to the victim.

At the preliminary hearing, only one document was excluded from the 11-volume case - a report from a police officer showing physical damage to the victim's body. For the same purpose, the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia presented a number of pieces of evidence of physical harm in the case, including medical and psychological examination reports, which describe in detail the physical and psychological harm inflicted on the victim Neli Dorokashvili. The above-mentioned evidence was not questioned at the preliminary hearing.

Accordingly, in the 11-volume case against Nikoloz Basilashvili, all the evidence proving all five episodes of domestic violence charges was fully admissible.

The substantial hearing on the case will begin on November 3, 2020, at 5:00 p.m.

Legal aid is provided as part of the project “Strengthening Child Access to Justice in Georgia” with the support of the Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia (PROLoG) carried by the East-West Management Institute with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding.