Georgia Arrests Opposition Figure

Police took the head of the opposition Forward Georgia party, Irakli Batiashvili, into custody on July 29 after national television aired a recording of a telephone call in which prosecutors said Batiashvili advised an outlawed rebel militia leader on staging a revolt.

The alleged advice was given to Emzar Kvitsiani, who's troops have been fighting for days in the Kodori Gorge.

Supporters of Batiashvili, who was a security minister under Georgia's former President Eduard Shevarnadze, said the arrest was motivated by politics and had no legal basis.

(AFP)