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Saturday, 08 May 2004
FORMER ADJAR OFFICIALS ARRESTED
By empty (5/8/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
At least five senior Adjar officials have been arrested since the resignation and departure for Moscow on 5 May of Adjar Supreme Council Chairman Aslan Abashidze. Murad Tsintsadze and his son Merab, both of them senior Interior Ministry personnel, were detained in Batumi on 8 May, as was Kobuleti Governor Tariel Khalvashi, the man responsible for barring Saakashvili from entering Adjaria in mid-March. Khalvashi has been charged with persecuting the opposition to Abashidze and illegally distributing weapons to the population.
At least five senior Adjar officials have been arrested since the resignation and departure for Moscow on 5 May of Adjar Supreme Council Chairman Aslan Abashidze. Murad Tsintsadze and his son Merab, both of them senior Interior Ministry personnel, were detained in Batumi on 8 May, as was Kobuleti Governor Tariel Khalvashi, the man responsible for barring Saakashvili from entering Adjaria in mid-March. Khalvashi has been charged with persecuting the opposition to Abashidze and illegally distributing weapons to the population. Roland Beridze, who headed the personal security guards of Abashidze\'s son, former Batumi Mayor Giorgi Abashidze, has also been arrested. (Caucasus Press)