Nine activists, affiliated with former parliamentary speaker Nino Burjanadze’s opposition Democratic Movement–United Georgia party (DMUG), have been arrested overnight on March 23 in Tbilisi and Batumi, the party said on Monday.

The Interior Ministry said it would make an official statement later.

Zurab Avaliani, head of the Democratic Movement–United Georgia party’s Batumi office and two others from the party’s same branch, Nugzar Gogrichidze and Davit Gograchadze, were arrested in Batumi.

Five activists from the party’s youth wing - Vakhtang Narsia; Roin Bugashvili, Vakhtang Tushmalashvili and two persons with the same first and second names - Giorgi Bolashvili - were arrested in Tbilisi; Mamuka Shengelia, who works as a driver for Badri Bitsadze, Burjanadze’s husband and former head of the Border Police, was also arrested in Tbilisi, according to DMUG.
 
Party activists in Batumi have claimed that the police “planted” firearms in the houses of Zurab Avaliani and Nugzar Gogrichidze and the official charges would most likely be linked with illegal possession of arms. DMUG officials in the Tbilisi headquarters said they were not yet aware of any official charges brought against the activists, but they also suggested that charges might be related with illegal possession of arms.

Badri Bitsadze, who after resignation from the post of head of the Border Police in October, 2008, became engaged in his wife’s party, claimed on March 23, that Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili informed him through intermediaries that President Saakashvili ordered his arrest. Bitsadze also said that Merabishvili’s message involved a recommendation to leave the country for at least a month in order to avoid the arrest. “But I am not going to leave the country,” he told journalists.

In his capacity of head of Border Police, Badri Bitsadze also held the post of Deputy Interior Minister.

Earlier this month the Georgian tabloid Alia reported that Bitsadze had a plan to set up armed groups. In an unusual move, the Rustavi 2 TV, picked up the newspaper article and covered the allegations extensively in its primetime news program on March 10. At that time Nino Burjanadze said that it was the authorities “dirty campaign” against her party.

On March 23, Burjanadze described the arrests as “terror” against her party.

“I have already informed about it foreign diplomats based in Tbilisi… and if let’s say the law enforcers decide to search my office here, I would like it to happen in presence of foreign diplomats,” Burjanadze told journalists.