Prosecutor: Victim Was Struck in the Face in Restaurant in Kiphiani and Bilanishvili Case

Prosecutor Vakhtang Kharebashvili said in the case of Vato Kiphiani, Avtandil Bilanishvili, also known as "Kaprosi", and Shota Kiphiani that after a verbal altercation in the restaurant, the defendants used force against the victim and struck him in the face, as a result of which he experienced pain.

According to the prosecutor, the investigation began on the basis of the victim's appeal and notification. According to him, the victim applied to the Prosecutor's Office the next day.

Kharebashvili said: "A violent category crime has been committed by a group of persons, which provides for imprisonment as a punishment. When the court granted the motion, it presumably took into account personal characteristics and past criminal record, and assessed in aggregate that only detention would neutralize the threat emanating from them."

Vato Kiphiani, Avtandil Bilanishvili and Shota Kiphiani were placed in pre-trial detention as a preventive measure. They were detained on October 14 in Tbilisi over a physical confrontation that occurred in one of the restaurants.

They were charged under Article 126, Part 1, Subparagraph "b" of the Criminal Code of Georgia (violence committed by a group). This article provides for imprisonment of up to two years.