Georgian tennis star Nikoloz Basilashvili has been cleared of physically abusing his ex-wife by a court in Tbilisi.
The World No.93 ended a two-year court case in his home country by being found not guilty by Tbilisi City Court of charges of violence against model Neli Dorokashvili.
Basilashvili, who faced up to three years in jail if found guilty, was arrested in May 2020 after allegedly attacking his ex-wife in the presence of their son. He was later released on a $36,000 bail.
Dorokashvili testified in court that her ex-husband had systematically abused her while they lived together, both physically and verbally, and that he limited her ability to work and took control of her finances and social media accounts.
The tennis player's lawyers have always denied the charges and, after the verdict, Basilashvili hailed the judges decision.
He said: "All these false accusations were very difficult for me to bear, and I am very glad that it’s all over. The priority for me now is to restore my relationship with my child."
However, following the decision, Dorokashvili's lawyers slammed the judge as 'biased' and vowed the appeal the decision.
Her lawyer Ana Abashidze said angrily: "The judge herself — sensitivity 0. Responsibility — 0. Knowledge — 0. Objectivity — 0.
‘"The biased system revealed itself once again today and threw another woman to the scaffold."
Dorokashvili married Basilashvili, who is ranked first in Georgia, in 2014. The couple had a child the following year and officially divorced in 2018.
The high-profile case has raised the spotlight of the culture of domestic violence against woman in Georgia.
About one in seven Georgian women has reported suffering violence at the hands of a partner, according to a 2017 study by the United Nations and Georgia’s National Statistics Office, but the real number might be higher, women’s rights advocates say.
0 Comments