4 Russians Held on Espionage Charges
Georgian authorities detained four Russian military officers on spying charges, and security forces surrounded Russia’s military headquarters in Tbilisi to demand that a fifth suspect be handed over, Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded the officers’ immediate release and said the allegations were unfounded.
“They showed a particular interest in Georgia’s defense capability, its programs of integration into NATO, energy security, political parties” as well as information about the nation’s military and infrastructure, Merabishvili said. He said 12 Georgians were also detained.
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