Georgia’s Interior Ministry has launched administrative proceedings against singer Aleksandre Mrelashvili, who performed at the wedding where an altercation broke out at a hotel in Telavi on July 18.
The ministry says Mrelashvili was summoned to a police station as a witness to be questioned about the incident. During the interview, however, he allegedly verbally insulted police officers and damaged a personal belongings storage area. The Interior Ministry said he has not been detained.
Earlier, speaking to TV Pirveli, Mrelashvili described the events at the wedding.
“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. We don’t yet know whether the equipment was damaged. Right now, I’m at the police station for questioning,” he said.
The incident took place at Agaranis Mamuli hotel in Telavi, where a wedding reception was underway. Reportedly, foreign tourists staying in one of the hotel rooms insulted wedding guests and poured liquid onto the celebration below.
The incident drew public attention after a video circulated on social media showing the groom’s brother striking a woman staying in one of the hotel rooms.
Police later detained the groom’s brother, Giorgi Chighladze, after questioning him. He has been charged under Article 120 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, which concerns intentionally causing minor bodily injury and carries a sentence of up to three years in prison.
His lawyer, Lasha Kapanadze, who was also attending the wedding, argues that the widely shared video does not show what happened beforehand.
Kapanadze claims that Chighladze went to the third floor after the confrontation and, speaking in English, told the hotel guests that their behavior was unacceptable and that they had effectively disrupted his brother’s wedding. The lawyer said one of the women insisted on speaking Russian, while Chighladze replied that he would communicate only in Georgian or English.
Kapanadze claims the woman then became more aggressive, grabbed Chighladze by the throat, and injured him. He says Chighladze freed himself and shouted an insult in English.
The lawyer said the viral footage was recorded after that exchange. He further claimed that another woman then struck Chighladze twice in the chest, causing him pain, after which he swung his right arm in an attempt to push her away, hitting her in the face with his elbow and causing her to fall.
Chighladze remains in custody and faces up to three years in prison if convicted.
