Espionage Claim Hits Georgian Oligarch

The oppositional New Rights Party has accused State Chancellery head, Kakha Bendukidze, of espionage. The charges assert that Bendukidze colloborated with Russian military officer, Vitaly Shlikov, and exhibited ties to the Russian military during the Russian-Georgian War. Despite these bold claims, New Rights Party Member Pikria Tchikhradze, says that the oligarch's status will make him virtually untouchable. Exactly what role Bendukidze might have played prior to and duruing the war will potentially make his case one of Georgia's most hightlighted since that of the death of Georgian oligarch, Badri Patarkatsishvili. Developments of the accusations should be closely followed in the Georgian press to see how the Saakashvili administration and the public react.