Aide to Georgia Leader Is Accused of Spying
The personal photographer of President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia was shown Saturday on Georgian television confessing to selling information to a man he suspected of being an agent for Russia.
The photographer, Irakli Gedenidze, said he provided information to a friend and colleague, Zurab Kurtsikidze, because Mr. Kurtsikidze, who works for the European Pressphoto Agency, had threatened to blackmail him. The two men and another photographer, Giorgi Abdaladze were charged with espionage.
The confession marks a new phase in a prosecution that has shaken media circles in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, where all three men are well known. In the confession, Mr. Gedenidze said he cooperated with Mr. Kurtsikidze out of fear.