Georgian police have arrested the son of the country's first post-Soviet president on charges of planning a coup against the government and spying for Russia.
Officials Thursday confirmed that Tsotne Gamsakhurdia is in custody after being arrested late Wednesday at the Tbilisi airport.
Georgian authorities have been seeking Gamsakhurdia's arrest since November of 2007, when he was accused of planning a failed coup against President Mikheil Saakashvili. He also was charged with having ties to the Russian secret service.
Georgian prosecutors filed charges against Gamsakhurdia following mass opposition protests against Mr. Saakashvili.
President Saakashvili accused Russian special agents of stirring up the trouble. Russia called the charge a provocation.
Gamsakhurdia is the son of former President Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who was ousted from power in 1992 and died the following year.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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