A further arrest has been made in connection with the fatal assault of a young teacher, Giga Avaliani, in the Temka settlement of Tbilisi. Officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) report that the individual, identified as G.R., born in 2007, is now in custody and has been charged with failure to report a serious crime. Based on the ministry statement, G.R. was present at the scene of the incident, yet did not notify law-enforcement officers and left the site alongside a person already detained in the case, A.G., born in 2008.
The sequence of events began on October 25, when the MIA arrested the second suspect, A.G., for allegedly physically assaulting Avaliani near a residential building in the Temka area. The teacher was subsequently hospitalized in critical condition; over the following days his health continued to decline and he died on October 24. The original injury is being treated as an intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm, which ultimately resulted in death.
Investigators say that the newly arrested suspect, G.R., did not carry out the assault but had been present and departed the scene without alerting authorities. Although the charge against him is limited to “failure to report a serious crime,” the development signals a widening of the investigation beyond the primary assailant.
This incident has come as a shock to the local community, particularly given Avaliani’s status as a young educator. The Temka settlement, part of the Gldani-Nadzaladevi district of Tbilisi, now finds itself at the center of a sensitive case with significant public-safety and social-policy implications.
Authorities continue to investigate the full circumstances of the assault: the motive, any possible accomplices beyond those identified, the precise role of each detained individual and whether there were any broader systemic or institutional failures (for example in bystander intervention or victim-protection mechanisms). The tragic death has also raised questions about detention conditions, juvenile perpetrators (both suspects are minors born in 2007 and 2008), and the legal-procedural pathway for serious offences involving under-age suspects in Georgia.
The MIA has indicated it will release further details as the investigation progresses, and the directorate of the Gldani-Nadzaladevi Main Division of the Tbilisi Police Department is coordinating with prosecutors.
Header image: Murdered young teacher Giga Avaliani
