The lawyer for Giorgi Chigladze, who is charged in connection with an incident involving Russian tourists at a hotel in Georgia’s Telavi Municipality, has released surveillance camera footage that he says shows how the confrontation began.
Lasha Kapanadze shared the video on social media, saying it was obtained from the criminal case materials and recorded by surveillance cameras at the Agarani Mamuli hotel, where the incident took place on July 18.
Lawyer says the footage shows that at around 20:15, Russian tourists staying at the hotel began shouting “Горька” (“Kiss”) and other provocative remarks toward the bride and groom during the wedding celebration.
Kapanadze claims that after the wedding guests ignored the remarks, the tourists poured an unidentified liquid from the third floor. He says the footage shows that singer Aleksandre (Elguja) Mrelashvili and wedding organizer Mariam Omanadze were struck by the liquid, which also spilled onto a music player positioned in front of the singer, damaging the equipment.
“The provocation from the Russians begins from the moment recorded above,” Kapanadze wrote.
The lawyer also alleged that some foreign nationals, “especially Russians,” may deliberately provoke incidents while traveling abroad in order to obtain victim status in criminal cases and later seek compensation from insurance companies. He did not provide evidence to support this claim.
The incident occurred on July 18 at a hotel in the village of Ruispiri, Telavi Municipality, where a verbal confrontation between wedding guests and Russian tourists escalated into a physical altercation.
Following the incident, police arrested Giorgi Chigladze. He has been charged under Part 1 of Article 120 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which concerns the intentional infliction of minor bodily harm.
A court later released Chigladze on 5,000 GEL bail pending further legal proceedings.
