Georgian president's photographer arrested on suspicion of spying

A PERSONAL photographer for Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has been arrested on espionage charges along with his wife and two colleagues, in what appears to be the latest move by Georgian authorities against an alleged Russian spy network.

The four were arrested early yesterday by security service agents who also took cameras, computers and memory cards from their homes. The arrests took place just hours after a Georgian court sentenced nine people to more than 10 years in jail for spying for Moscow.

Georgian officials named the suspects as presidential photographer Irakli Gedenidze, his photographer wife Natia, Zurab Kurtsikidze of the Frankfurt-based European Pressphoto Agency and Giorgi Abdaladze, who works for Georgia’s foreign ministry.

The interior ministry said they were accused of giving information to an “organisation acting under cover of the special services of a foreign country, to the detriment of the interests of Georgia”.

Georgian deputy interior minister Eka Zguladze said the investigation was continuing and that “very serious charges will be put forward”.

A lawyer for Mr Abdaladze said he had gone on hunger strike to protest against his detention.

“He is shocked by his detention and has no idea of why it happened,” the lawyer said.

Nino Andriashvili, a lawyer for Mr Kurtsikidze, said he was “in quite a difficult emotional state because he does not understand the charges and does not accept that he is guilty”.

Georgia says it has struck hard at an extensive Russian spy network since the two countries fought a brief war in 2008 over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Moscow now recognises it and another separatist region of Georgia called Abkhazia as independent states.

Georgian officials also accuse Russian security services of planning bomb and gun attacks in and around the de-facto border zones of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and explosions near the US embassy and at Nato’s office in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital.

“Not all agents working for Russia have been arrested. They are under our surveillance. We are monitoring their actions, plans and I am satisfied with the work of our counter-intelligence,” Georgian interior minister Vano Merabishvili said earlier this week.

Moscow says the accusations are attempts by Mr Saakashvili to distract attention from his country’s economic problems and criticism that he is suppressing independent media and political opponents – whom he often accuses of having links to Russia.