Priest arrested in plot to poison senior cleric

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Priest arrested in plot to poison senior cleric

By MISHA DZHINZHIKHASHVILI
Feb. 13, 2017 8:16 AM EST

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — 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.

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Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7438bdaf54a84505bdffc35e05b5d9b4/priest-arrested-plot-poison-head-georgian-church

[saidsimplesimon]

1. Eugene, trust but verify?

There are sources who say this network is a propaganda tool for the government. Russian officials have close allies in the Orthodox Church. I don't have any insider source to confirm or deny if this story is legitimate or propaganda.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Most of the story is AP reporting what the Georgian officials say

The only part specifically from the channel is that the Patriarch was the target; but the priest was arrested at the airport on his way to Germany.