The prosecution has collected and submitted to the court a sufficient body of evidence confirming that a minor defendant, identified as D.Ch., had been lying in wait with Giga Avaliani several days prior to the crime and had assisted other minors in preparing the offense. According to the prosecution, a few days later, the group carried out an attack on the victim, resulting in severe bodily injuries.
At today’s court hearing, the admissibility of evidence was reviewed as part of the pre-trial proceedings. The prosecution’s evidence passed the admissibility review, and the preventive measures imposed on the defendants were reconsidered. The court decided to leave the preventive measures unchanged for both defendants.
This information was shared with journalists by Prosecutor Ketevan Sonidze, who is handling the case of one of the minors accused in connection with the killing of teacher Giga Avaliani. She confirmed that the court also reviewed the preventive measures during the session and decided to maintain them without modification.
As of now, four individuals have been detained in connection with the Giga Avaliani case. One of the accused, Aleksandre Gabashvili, has been charged under Article 117, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which refers to intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in death.
The remaining defendants, including Giorgi Rikadze and two other minors, were initially charged under Article 376, Part 1 of the Criminal Code, which concerns failure to report a crime by a person who is aware that a serious crime is being prepared or has already been committed.
According to the latest information, charges have been aggravated for two of the four minors detained in the case. The individuals involved are identified as D.Ch. and A.N. The prosecution initially accused D.Ch. of failing to report a crime; however, the investigation has now charged him with intentional grievous bodily harm committed as part of a group.
As for A.N., the prosecution had previously charged him with failure to report a serious crime. This charge has now been reclassified as failure to report a particularly serious crime, which carries a more severe penalty under Georgian law. The offense is punishable by imprisonment ranging from three to seven years.
Meanwhile, the mother of Demetre Chikovani, one of the accused minors, has been holding a hunger strike outside the Prosecutor’s Office building for several days.
