Georgian gets 20 years in jail for killing actor
An Athens court yesterday passed down a 20-year jail sentence on a 31-year-old Georgian national charged with the murder of popular actor Nikos Sergianopoulos in June 2008 at the latter’s home in the eastern Athens district of Pangrati. The court voted unanimously to convict David Murtikneli on charges of murder, illegal arms possession and illegal entry into the country. The lawyers representing Murtikneli said they would appeal the verdict. Defending himself in court at the end of last month, the 31-year-old claimed that his victim had tried to force him to have sex with him at knife-point after they both took cocaine. Murtikneli claimed then that the influence of the drug made him lose his grip on reality. He did not make any comments after the verdict was announced yesterday.
