Letters to the Editor
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gri-gris are not for ice climbing!
It could have been a different sort of auto-locking belay device, but if indeed it was a Gri-Gri, then the climber/teacher should have known that these are NOT made for use in ice-climbing, as they are not designed to lock onto a frozen (or even thin/cold) rope.
In addition, although these are auto-locking devices, the proper belay position is still "never let go of the brake hand" (effectively backing up the cam mechanism with a standard friction belay). The teacher/climber should have emphasized this statement over the "auto-locking" aspect.
Accidents are an unfortunate part of the sport (then again, perhaps they serve as a fortunate illuminator of something we need to learn...?) but unless they are single-person accidents there is never a single person at fault. As the user manuals say, "climbing is dangerous!". :)
Best wishes to your boyfriend. May he recover to climb again soon!