Giorgi Chighladze, the man arrested following a high-profile altercation at the Agarani Estate (Agaranis Mamuli) hotel in Telavi during a wedding reception, was released this week after the Telavi District Court imposed GEL 5,000 bail as a preventive measure.
The ruling was delivered by Judge Tamar Kapanadze.
During the hearing, Chighladze expressed remorse for the incident.
“I regret this crime… It was never my intention for it to end this way… That’s what I want to say,” he told the court, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Georgian Service.
Chighladze has been charged under Part 1 of Article 120 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which concerns the intentional infliction of minor bodily injury. The offense carries penalties ranging from a fine and corrective labor to house arrest or imprisonment for up to three years. Prosecutors said the GEL 5,000 bail request was consistent with standard practice for this category of offense.
The incident occurred on July 18 at the Agarani Estate hotel in the village of Ruispiri, Telavi Municipality, where a wedding reception was taking place.
According to Georgia’s Interior Ministry, foreign nationals staying at the hotel insulted wedding guests from a balcony and poured liquid onto the celebration below, including onto sound equipment.
Police say Chighladze subsequently assaulted a foreign female citizen, who required medical treatment.
The confrontation gained widespread attention after the women involved posted a video on social media alleging they had been attacked because they were speaking Russian.
One of the women, Alyona Nesteryuk, who traveled from Russia, denies that the assault was preceded by any provocation by the tourists. However, she acknowledged there may have been a “misunderstanding and argument” between the Russian visitors and the Georgian wedding guests. Her interview was published on the social media page of Mamuka Pipia, a businessman holding both Russian and Georgian citizenship and leader of the pro-Kremlin political party ‘Solidarity for Peace.’
Chighladze’s defense strongly disputes that account.
His lawyer, Lasha Kapanadze, argues that Chighladze “was the victim of a provocation organized by Russians and is himself a victim.”
According to the defense, Russian-speaking hotel guests repeatedly shouted “Gorka,” a traditional Russian chant encouraging newlyweds to kiss, before allegedly pouring liquids and spitting on the wedding party from the third floor. The lawyer claims the harassment disrupted the reception, damaged sound equipment, and forced wedding singer Aleksandre Mrelashvili to stop performing and leave.
Kapanadze said Chighladze initially remained downstairs and only went upstairs after the dispute continued and hotel staff failed to stop the confrontation. According to the lawyer, Chighladze knocked on the hotel room door, and an argument followed. The defense claims the woman scratched Chighladze’s neck and struck him in the chest, after which he raised his arm to fend off the attack, accidentally striking her in the face with his elbow and causing her to fall. The video, however, clearly shows him punching her after swearing at her in English for being in his country and ruining his brother’s wedding.
Agarani Estate has also released a detailed account of the incident, saying staff intervened shortly after the dispute began and took multiple steps in an effort to prevent it from escalating.
According to the hotel, the wedding occupied roughly one-third of its accommodation capacity, while the property was otherwise almost fully booked. Other guests had been informed in advance that a wedding reception would be taking place.
The hotel said a verbal confrontation between wedding guests and other hotel guests began at approximately 8.16 pm, and confirmed that it was preceded by liquid being poured onto the wedding’s sound equipment.
“Video footage in the hotel’s possession shows wedding guests looking towards the upper floors of the hotel and pointing to a particular situation. The confrontation was preceded by liquid being poured onto the music equipment.”
According to the statement, hotel staff and security personnel intervened within minutes and went to the guests’ room at around 8:20 pm. Employees remained there for several minutes attempting to calm the situation before deciding to relocate the guests to another room to prevent further contact with the wedding party.
The hotel said reception staff searched for an alternative room while also contacting the guests’ tour guide and discussing the possibility of transferring the visitors to another hotel. Police were called at approximately 8:39 pm, before the physical altercation occurred.
According to the hotel, security personnel then noticed one of the wedding guests heading to the upper floor, and a staff member immediately followed. However, before the employee reached the third floor, the physical confrontation had already taken place. An ambulance was subsequently called, while the guests’ tour guide and patrol police arrived shortly afterward.
The hotel said it had “used all available means to prevent the incident and de-escalate the situation,” adding that it had provided investigators with all available CCTV footage and other relevant evidence. It also acknowledged that, despite those efforts, it had failed to prevent the confrontation.
“We recognize that despite our efforts, the incident could not ultimately be prevented, and we accept our share of responsibility.”
On the evening of July 20, Chighladze released a letter from the Gurjaani pretrial detention facility.
“I am currently being held at the Gurjaani pretrial detention facility. My lawyers, Mariam Durglishvili and Lasha Kapanadze, are providing me with all the necessary information. Thank you for your support. I will continue to fight and defend our dignity until the end. I am sorry that the woman was injured, but I did not intend for this to happen. Even an unintentional action committed during a conflict can have serious consequences for anyone. Therefore, I ask everyone: try not to fall for provocations and do not act in a moment of anger caused by an insult.”
Separately, Georgian Legion commander Mamuka Mamulashvili has claimed on social media that one of the Russian women involved is wanted by Ukrainian authorities.
According to Mamulashvili, the woman allegedly passed intelligence to Russia and became the subject of criminal proceedings in Ukraine before later hiding in Moscow.
“We hope that Georgia’s law enforcement agencies will soon make public information about who this person really is,” he wrote.
However, Mamulashvili’s claims regarding the woman’s identity and alleged criminal status have not been independently verified, and neither Georgian nor Ukrainian authorities have publicly confirmed the allegations.
In a related development, Georgia’s Interior Ministry has launched administrative proceedings against wedding singer Aleksandre Mrelashvili, alleging that he verbally insulted police officers and damaged property while being questioned as a witness following the incident. Mrelashvili denies any wrongdoing and has publicly described the disruption at the wedding, saying unidentified individuals repeatedly poured liquid on guests and sound equipment from above, forcing the celebration to end prematurely.
“I was performing at the wedding when someone from above started pouring liquid on us. I don’t know whether it was vodka, champagne, or something else, but they kept doing it. Then they came out again, spat at us, and insulted us. They ruined the wedding. We couldn’t continue the celebration,” he said.
The investigation into the hotel altercation remains ongoing.
By Team GT
