An officer of Russia’s army, Mikhail Khachidze, was detained in the Stavropol region on suspected spying for Georgia.
Photo: Alexander Miridonov
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FSB Unmasked Georgian Spy in Russia’s Army
An officer of Russia’s army, Mikhail Khachidze, was detained in the Stavropol region on suspected spying for Georgia, Interfax reported with reference to a spokesman of the PR Center of Russia’s FSB. A criminal case was opened under Clause 275 (High Treason).
In Federal Security Service (FSB), they haven’t given any details about Khachidze’s arrest. The only thing known is that the officer was hooked in Georgia in 2007 and has been “collecting secret information about Russia’s Armed Forces, readiness of combat units as well as the data on his fellow-servicemen.”
FSB said they unmasked a spying net of Georgia in Russia soon after the start of the military conflict in South Ossetia. Officers announced they detained nine people but refused to specify the actual date of arrest. One of the Georgian spies was Russia’s citizen Ramzan Turkoshvili, but the secret services reported his detention far back in mid-May.
The spying agitation gained momentum in Russia after FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov announced August 19 that Georgian secret services were plotting terror actions here. General Staff Deputy Chief Anatoly Nogovitsyn added fuel to the fire by saying that Georgia was staging subversive actions against Russia’s peacekeepers.
Tbilisi predictably denies all spying and terrorist accusations of Russia’s enforcement bodies.
www.kommersant.com
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