Georgian police raid offices of opposition organizations; activists arrested AP September 6, 2006
Georgian police staged pre-dawn raids at the offices of opposition groups and a political party Wednesday and detained several activists, opposition leaders said.
Police officials did not immediately comment on the raids, but opposition leaders and their representatives said charges of plotting a coup were being filed against several people.
The organization Anti-Soros _ known for its flashy street protests against U.S. billionaire George Soros _ said its leader, Maiya Nikoleishvili, was arrested at her home in the capital, Tbilisi, and police were seizing papers from the organization's offices. Also arrested in the western city of Zugdidi was a top official with the opposition party Justice, along with another activist.
Security officers also detained Temur Zhorzholiani, leader of the Conservative Monarchist Party on charges of high treason and plotting a coup, his lawyer Gela Nikolaishvili said. He said investigators believe Zhorzholiani sought to bring exiled opposition leader Igor Giorgadze, a former Justice party leader, to power.
Giorgadze, who is believed to be in hiding in Russia, is wanted by Georgian police for allegedly plotting an assassination attempt against former President Eduard Shevardnadze.
The anti-Soros groups accuse the foundation of the U.S. philanthropist of funding the 2003 Rose Revolution that brought the current president, Mikhail Saakashvili, to power.
Other critics have warned about rollbacks in democracy under Saakashvili, and his popularity has plunged halfway through his five-year term.
In March, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's envoy to Georgia expressed concern about media freedoms, due process and independence of the judiciary.
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BBC Monitoring Pro-Russian opposition activists detained across Georgia on treason charges Source: Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi, in Georgian 0800 gmt 6 Sep 06
[Presenter] Temur Zhorzholiani, Maia Nikoleishvili, Revaz Bulia and several other supporters of Igor Giorgadze [pro-Russian fugitive former security minister] have been arrested. Georgian law enforcers began arresting Giorgadze's supporters this morning.
At the moment a search is under way in the office of the [opposition] Conservative Monarchist Party in Tarkhnishvili Street of [Tbilisi's] Vake district. A special-purpose detachment entered the office at 0400 this morning. Guards were taken away for questioning. Only [Conservative Monarchist Party leader] Temur Zhorzholiani and his lawyer remained in the office.
According to preliminary information, Zhorzholiani is expected to be charged with high treason. A few minutes ago he was detained and taken out of the building. [Passage omitted]
[Correspondent] Temur Zhorzholiani's lawyer Gela Nikolaishvili has said that Zhorzholiani has been charged with high treason and with participating in a conspiracy. As the lawyer explained, the charges are linked to a meeting of members of the anti-Soros movement that allegedly took place on 24 May. Participants in the meeting allegedly planned to overthrow the government and help Igor Giorgadze to come to power. [Passage omitted]
[Gela Nikolaishvili, Zhorzholiani's lawyer, recording starts in mid-sentence] - putting aside the imaginary story, as Temur Zhorzholiani describes it, about an alleged meeting on 24 May at which members of the anti-Soros movement, Justice Party, Conservative Monarchist Party and others allegedly decided to overthrow the government through an armed rebellion.
[Correspondent] Is this case linked to Igor Giorgadze?
[Nikolaishvili] Yes, the search warrant says that the aim of the alleged coup was to enable Igor Giorgadze to come to power. [Passage omitted]
[Presenter] A search is also under way in the office of Igor Giorgadze's charitable foundation, headed by [opposition politician] Irina Sarishvili, on 10 Chavchavadze Street. Irina Sarishvili is in the building. [Passage omitted]
The law enforcers detained the leader of the anti-Soros movement, Maia Nikoleishvili, at 0500 this morning at her holiday home. According to representatives of the movement, Nikoleishvili was detained by the special services. The anti-Soros movement includes parties and organizations that support Igor Giorgadze. [Passage omitted]
A special operation has also begun in the provinces. Giorgadze's family home in Samtredia [western Georgia] is being searched. In Batumi, special services entered the house of the leader of the Justice Party's local organization, Ramaz Samnidze, at 0500. Samnidze has been arrested. [Passage omitted]
The same situation pertains in Zugdidi. Igor Giorgadze's personal representative in Samegrelo province, Revaz Bulia, was arrested this morning. [Passage omitted]
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Recent arrests in Georgia aim at establishing Saakashvili's cult - Zatulin
MOSCOW. Sept 6 (Interfax) - The arrests of some Georgian politicians are aimed at intimidating the opposition, said Konstantin Zatulin, a deputy in the Russian State Duma and the director of the Institute of CIS Institute Studies.
"This is a logical consequence of the final degeneration of the regime that had come to power under democratic slogans. A measure to intimidate the opposition, which consistently spoke against Saakashvili, is being taken," the political expert told Interfax n Wednesday.
"These are steps to gain the full control not only over the state, but also over society," he said.
"All this together with the Georgia's foreign political provocations in respect to South Ossetia and Abkhazia is a proof that the cult of Saakashvili's personality is being established," Zatulin said.
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