Jailed former president of ex-Soviet Georgia faces court

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — The imprisoned former president of ex-Soviet republic Georgia has appeared in court on charges of abuse of office, proceedings that triggered scuffles between his supporters and police. Mikheil Saakashvili was president in 2008-13 and left Georgia after the end of his second term. He was later convicted in absentia of abuse of power and sentenced to six years in prison. Monday’s hearings at the Tbilisi City Court on a new case against Saakashvili for the violent dispersal of a 2007 protest marked Saakashvili’s first public appearance since his Oct. 1 arrest. Saakashvili went on a seven-week hunger strike after his arrest. He ended it on Nov. 19 after authorities agreed to transfer him from a prison clinic to a military hospital.