Prosecutor’s Office charges Giorgi Malania for aiding and abetting grievous bodily harm in Giga Avaliani case

Giorgi Malania has been formally charged with aiding and abetting the intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm by a group, in a case severed from the main criminal investigation into the assault of Giga Avaliani. The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia reported.

According to the agency, law enforcement officers apprehended the suspect on July 1.

“The investigation has established that in September 2025, Aleksandre Gabashvili, along with Giorgi Rikadze and Demetre Chikhovani, plotted a coordinated group assault on Giga Avaliani.

To this end, they identified Giga Avaliani and monitored his social media accounts, downloading his photograph to recognise and memorise his appearance.

With the assistance of Giorgi Malania, a student of Giga Avaliani, they established the victim’s workplace and home address, tracked his daily schedule, and mapped his regular route home. They then selected a location to execute their plan and commenced surveillance.

On the evening of September 29, 2025, Aleksandre Gabashvili, Giorgi Rikadze, and Demetre Chikhovani drove to a training centre in the Zghvis Ubani (Sea District) neighbourhood of Tbilisi to carry out a reprisal attack. Although they set up an ambush and had established all the necessary conditions for the assault, they were unable to execute their plan that day due to circumstances beyond their control.

On October 1, 2025, in accordance with the plan orchestrated by Aleksandre Gabashvili, Giorgi Rikadze, and Demetre Chikhovani, the former two launched a coordinated group attack on Giga Avaliani. The victim sustained severe, life-threatening injuries and passed away in a medical facility on October 24, 2025.

Following his arrest on July 1, the suspect was formally charged under Article 25 and Article 117, Part 3, Subparagraph ‘l’ of the Criminal Code of Georgia (aiding and abetting the intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm by a group), an offence carrying a maximum prison sentence of up to 13 years.

The Prosecutor’s Office will apply to the court within the legally prescribed timeframe to have the defendant remanded in custody. The public is reminded that Aleksandre Gabashvili, Giorgi Rikadze, and Demetre Chikhovani have already been convicted for their roles in the aforementioned crimes. The criminal investigation by the Ministry of Internal Affairs remains ongoing,” the Prosecutor’s Office statement read.