Georgia ex-president Saakashvili charged with abuse of power

Georgian prosecutors today announced they had charged former president Mikheil Saakashvili and several of his top lieutenants with abuse of power over the breaking up of anti-governmental demonstrations in 2007.
The charges concern orders given that led to the violent dispersal of protesters trying to disrupt a military parade, and the "fraudulent" seizure of the Imedi TV station in 2009.
Also charged were ex-interior minister Vano Merabishvili, former justice minister Zurab Adeishvili, ex-defence minister David Kezarashvili and the former mayor of the capital Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava.
Saakashvili, who is in self-imposed exile in the United States, did not return to Tbilisi for questioning by prosecutors.

"I'll return to Georgia when I decide," Saakashvili wrote on his Facebook page, noting that Georgia's current leaders have said he was a target for prosecution.
Saakashvili refused several months ago to return to Georgia to testify as a witness in several criminal cases, saying he did not have confidence in the country's current rulers.
A staunch US ally and flamboyant reformer, Saakashvili ruled Georgia for a decade until his party lost parliamentary elections in 2012.
Since then, a number of Saakashvili's top allies have been investigated and some jailed, prompting Western concerns over politically motivated trials.