Mother of slain teacher: prosecutors admitted earlier charges were unfounded

The mother of murdered teacher Giga Avaliani has accused prosecutors of initially pursuing an unfounded case, saying the prosecution has now effectively acknowledged the absurdity of its earlier charges.

“Prosecutors have admitted the absurdity of the previous charges, which I was publicly shouting about,” Avaliani’s mother, Eka Kupatadze, told journalists on Friday.

Kupatadze questioned claims by the mother of one of the juvenile suspects that she had reviewed all ten volumes of the case file, suggesting that key facts had been overlooked. She also challenged inconsistencies in the suspects’ statements regarding their movements on the day of the killing, citing video evidence and witness accounts included in the case materials.

According to Kupatadze, the case files indicated that three of the juveniles involved went together to the home of Guram Rikadze, the father of one of the suspects, following the incident. She alleged that Rikadze, who has a prior conviction, arrived in Georgia on 8 October and influenced how the suspects should act and what they should say during the investigation.

Meanwhile, charges have been upgraded against two of the four juveniles detained in connection with Avaliani’s killing.

The case concerns suspects identified as D.Ch. and A.N., who were initially charged with failing to report a crime. According to investigators, D.Ch. is now charged with intentional grievous bodily harm committed by a group with particular cruelty.

The prosecution has also upgraded the charge against A.N. to failure to report a particularly serious crime, an offence punishable by three to seven years in prison.