TBILISI, August 21 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian businessman of Georgian origin has filed a lawsuit with a Tbilisi court against a senior Georgian lawmaker and demanded 10 million euros ($14.2 million) in compensation for damage to his dignity and business reputation.
Alexander Yebralidze's suit against Givi Targamadze, head of parliament's defense and security committee, came after Targamadze accused the Moscow-based businessman in televised remarks of a role in a military base mutiny in the Caucasus state in May, calling him a "murderer," the businessman's lawyer told reporters on Friday.
Yebralidze has announced plans to run for president, and requested Georgian nationality earlier this summer. He has strongly criticized Georgia's foreign policy in his statements.
President Mikheil Saakashvili, who encountered almost four months of opposition protests earlier this year, repeatedly said the opposition had been funded from abroad, including by Russia. He mentioned Yebralidze among sponsors of the unrests, and accused him of links to criminal groups.
