BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

Tuesday, 06 September 2005

Georgian Youths Jailed In Belarus Return To Tbilisi

6 September 2005 -- Two Georgian youth activists who spent a few days in Belarusian police custody have returned to Tbilisi.

The two, Giorgi Kandelaki and Luka Tsuladze, arrived in the Georgian capital yesterday from Ukraine. They met with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili at the State Chancellery today.

Saakashvili thanked Ukrainian authorities for their help in securing the release of the two activists.

On 30 August, Kandelaki and Tsuladze were sentenced to 15 days of administrative detention on charges of violating Belarus's travel regulations. But they were released sooner than expected.

Both men belong to Kmara! (Enough!), the youth movement that helped Saakashvili rise to power during the November 2003 Rose Revolution.

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has accused his opponents of seeking a similar revolution in his country.

(Rustavi 2 TV)

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/d7004053-7a82-424f-84f9-e65c0861e1bf.html