Spy case against Georgian photographers 'weak'

The lawyer for one of three Georgian photojournalists charged with spying for Moscow said Tuesday that the authorities had no strong evidence to link them with Russian intelligence. The men, who include pro-Western President Mikheil Saakashvili's personal photographer, have been accused of collecting confidential material on the Georgian leader and sending it to the Russian military intelligence agency. But the lawyer for the alleged kingpin of the spy ring, European Pressphoto Agency photographer Zurab Kurtsikidze, said the evidence suggested he was innocent. "The prosecution does not have strong evidence to prove Zurab Kurtsikidze's guilt," lawyer Nino Andriashvili told AFP. Police have released allegedly incriminating video testimony from the president's photographer and surveillance recordings of phonecalls between the suspects discussing payments. The men have been put under two months' pre-trial detention and could face up to 12 years in jail if convicted. Ex-Soviet Georgia fought a war with neighbour Russia in 2008 and has regularly accused Moscow of running espionage operations on its territory. The case has caused widespread concern within Georgia's media community but the authorities say the men were detained for passing on documents clearly marked as secret, not because of their journalistic work. "We must emphasise that the detention of the photographers has nothing to do with freedom of the media and the restriction of media activities," Saakashvili's spokeswoman Manana Manjgaladze said at a news conference on Tuesday. However another of the suspects, foreign ministry photographer Giorgi Abdaladze, claimed on Monday that they were targeted because they photographed protesters beaten by riot police at a rally in May and sold the "shocking" pictures to international media. The interior ministry described the claim as "ridiculous". The United States, Georgia's main international supporter, has called for any trial to be "transparent and accountable". "You know we believe in freedom of the media; but if, in fact, there have been actions incompatible with that, then we would want to see a transparent and accountable judicial process," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a briefing on Monday.