Former Georgian Interior Ministry Officials Detained, Interrogated

Nine former officials of Georgia's Interior Ministry have been detained.

The chief of the ministry's Department for Constitutional Security, Levan Kardava, is among those being held.

Kardava's lawyer told journalists that his client and the other detained officials have been interrogated and face charges of abuse of office and illegal deprivation of freedom.

The case is connected to the alleged abduction earlier this year of a bodyguard for Bidzina Ivanishvili, who became prime minister last month.

One of the detained officers also faces charge of illegal destruction of private property.

In Brussels on November 14, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed his concern about the criminal investigations of Georgia's former interior minister, the armed forces chief of staff, and a Georgian Army brigade commander launched last week.

Based on reporting by apsny.ge and Interfax