Their village of Birkiani is located in Georgia 's Pankisi Gorge , which was a major transit point for rebels participating in the Second Chechen War , and according to his father , a young Batirashvili secretly helped Chechen militants into Russia and sometimes joined them on missions against Russian-backed troops. According to the Georgian Defense Ministry , Batirashvili was arrested in September 2010 for illegally harboring weapons and was sentenced to three years in prison .
Batirashvili helped Chechen militants during the Second Chechen War and was arrested between 2008 and 2011 for harboring weapons and was sentenced to three years in prison .