One more suspect charged with aiding attack in teacher Avaliani’s murder case

Georgian prosecutors have charged Giorgi Malania with aiding the group assault that led to the death of young tutor Giga Avaliani, while his father has rejected the allegations and vowed to challenge the case through all available legal avenues.

The Prosecutor General’s Office on Friday said an investigation conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs under prosecutorial supervision found that in September 2025, Aleksandre Gabashvili, together with Giorgi Rikadze and Demetre Chikovani, planned a group attack on Avaliani.

Prosecutors alleged the suspects identified Avaliani, reviewed his social media accounts and downloaded his photograph to recognise him. They further alleged that, with Malania's assistance, they obtained Avaliani's home and workplace addresses, learned his work schedule and monitored his movements between work and home before selecting a location for the attack.

According to prosecutors, the group first attempted to carry out the assault on 29 September 2025 near an educational centre in Tbilisi's Sea District, but failed for reasons beyond their control.

The prosecution alleged that on 1 October 2025, acting according to their plan, Gabashvili and Rikadze attacked Avaliani, causing grievous bodily harm. Avaliani died in hospital on 24 October 2025.

Malania was arrested on 1 July and has now been charged under Articles 25 and 117(3)(l) of Georgia's Criminal Code, which concern aiding the intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm committed by a group. The offence carries a maximum sentence of 13 years' imprisonment.

The Prosecutor's Office said it would ask the court to order Malania's pre-trial detention within the statutory deadline.

Prosecutors also noted that Gabashvili, Rikadze and Chikovani have already been convicted over the offences connected to the case.

Speaking after the charges were announced, Malania's father, former senior law enforcement official Merab Malania, denied the accusations against his son.

"I did not agree with the original charge of failing to report a crime, and I do not agree with this charge either. I will continue the legal fight, including outside the country if necessary," he said.

Merab Malania said his son had been contacted by someone he had never met, who claimed that his girlfriend, a friend of Malania's son, was being treated inappropriately by a teacher and suggested they speak to him.

"There was no discussion of any attack," he said.

He also rejected claims that his son had belonged to a fascist group or a street gang.

"Many people have said he was a member of a fascist group or a street gang. My son grew up in a way that I always knew where he was. I even took him to school myself. Later, it was somehow suggested that I had also participated in planning the crime simply because I drove him everywhere," he said.

Merab Malania said the defence had only recently received the case files and would now review the evidence. The allegations against Giorgi Malania have not been tested in court.