Georgian authorities have put former President Mikheil Saakashvili on a wanted list and will detain him if he returns to the country he led for nearly a decade.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said on August 14 that Saakashvili is wanted on charges related to the forceful dispersal of a protest rally and violence at a TV station in November 2007.
The move may spark criticism from Western nations including the United States, which has warned the government against any politically motivated prosecution of former officials.
Saakashvili was swept to power in the peaceful Rose Revolution protests of 2003.
His ruling party was defeated by opponents in 2012, and he left Georgia after his presidency ended last November.
He has been charged in absentia with abuse of office and with organizing an attack on a lawmaker. He says the charges are baseless.
