Irina Sarishvili, a leader of the Imedi (Hope) political party affiliated with wanted ex-security chief Igor Giorgadze’s Justice Party, was arrested on February 5 at the Sadakhlo border crossing point on the Georgian-Armenian border, Tbilisi-based Imedi and Rustavi 2 television networks reported.
She was reportedly arrested in Georgia while returning from Russia via Armenia.
According to the same reports, Georgian law enforcers seized USD 58,000 that Sarishvili was carrying, 7,000 Russian rubles and over 300 grams of gold. The reason for the arrest has not yet been reported, and law enforcement officials have not made any comments.
This is the second time in the past five months that Sarishvili has been arrested. The last arrest was in September 2006, when dozens of Giorgadze’s allies were arrested in a police round-up. Later most of them, including Sarishvili, were released, but 11 activists from Giorgadze’s party remain under detention for allegedly plotting a coup.
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