The prosecution has presented to the court a sufficient body of evidence confirming that the minor defendant D.Ch., several days before the crime was committed, was lying in wait with Giga Avaliani and assisted other minors in carrying out the crime, prosecutor Ketevan Sonidze told journalists. She is handling the case of Demetre Chikovani, one of the minors charged in connection with the death of teacher Giga Avaliani.

According to the prosecutor, today’s court hearing addressed the admissibility of evidence.

She also noted that the preventive measure was reviewed and remained unchanged for both defendants.

“The prosecution has collected and presented to the court a sufficient body of evidence confirming that the minor defendant D.Ch. was indeed lying in wait with Giga Avaliani several days prior to the crime and assisted other minors in committing it. A few days later, they carried out an attack on the victim and inflicted severe bodily injuries, which ultimately led to his death.

At today’s court hearing, the admissibility of evidence was examined - this stage is referred to as the pretrial hearing. Accordingly, the prosecution’s evidence passed the admissibility review. The preventive measure was reconsidered at today’s hearing and remained unchanged for both defendants,” the prosecutor said.

For reference, law enforcement officers have detained a total of four individuals in connection with the death of Giga Avaliani. One of them, Aleksandre Gabashvili, has been charged under Article 117, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which concerns intentional infliction of serious bodily harm resulting in death. Giorgi Rikadze and two other minors were charged under Article 376, Part 1 of the Criminal Code, which refers to failure to report a crime by a person who is aware that a serious crime is being prepared or has been committed.

According to available information, charges against two of the four minors detained in the case of the murder of the young teacher, Giga Avaliani, have been upgraded. The individuals in question are D.Ch. and A.N., whom the prosecution initially accused of failure to report a crime. D.Ch. is now charged with intentional infliction of serious bodily harm committed by a group. Meanwhile, A.N., who was initially charged with failure to report a serious crime, is now charged with failure to report a particularly serious crime - a more severe charge punishable by imprisonment from three to seven years.