Police in Georgia have detained a high-profile priest who is
suspected of plotting to poison a senior cleric, prosecutors said on
Monday.
The announcement comes after well-respected Rustavi 2 television
channel reported about an attempt to poison Patriarch Ilia, head of the
Georgian Orthodox Church.
Irakli Shotadze, chief prosecutor in the former Soviet republic, told
reporters on Monday that Father Georgi Mamaladze was arrested at the
Tbilisi airport on Friday with cyanide in his suitcase.
Mamaladze, chief
of the property department of the Georgian Orthodox Church, was on his
way to Germany where Ilia is undergoing hospital treatment.
Shotadze said the arrest was made after prosecutors received a tip
from a man who reported that he had been contacted by a priest looking
to buy cyanide. Police also found weapons at Mamaladze’s home.
Shotadze refused to name the senior cleric that Mamaladze is suspected of having targeted.
The 84-year old Ilia has been in poor health for several years, and
was visibly frail when he welcomed Pope Francis to Georgia in October.
Eka Beseliya, chairwoman of the parliamentary committee on legal
issues, said Mamaladze’s arrest “has prevented a grave crime” but said
she was unable to disclose details of the case since it is classified.
Beseliya added, however, that the patriarch’s “security and health are
protected absolutely.”