Officials of Georgia's Defense Ministry charged

The Georgian government detained the armed forces’ chief of staff on
Wednesday on suspicion of abuse of power, stepping up what the
opposition says is political persecution of President Mikheil
Saakashvili’s allies, world media report.

New Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’s coalition said after ousting
Saakashvili’s party in an election last month that former officials
suspected of crimes would be prosecuted. It began acting on its
promise on Tuesday by detaining Bacho Akhalaia, a former interior and
defence minister. General Georgy Kalandadze, the military chief of
staff, and another army commander were brought in for questioning
early on Wednesday.

Today Bacho Akhalaia was officially charged with abuse of power and
illegal imprisonment.