Georgia’s ex-president arrested after returning home

By SOPHIKO MEGRELIDZE
Associated Press

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — The prime minister of Georgia says former President Mikheil Saakashvili has been arrested after he had returned to the country. The announcement Friday by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili came about 18 hours after Saakashvili posted on Facebook that he was back in Georgia ahead of of national municipal elections on Saturday. The ex-president was convicted on abuse of power charges in absentia and has lived in Ukraine in recent years. Saakashvili was president from 2004-13 and was renowned for his energetic efforts against Georgia’s endemic corruption, but Georgians became increasingly uneasy with what they saw as his authoritarian inclinations and his sometimes-mercurial behavior.