Leader of small Georgian opposition group shot dead

Gela Meladze, secretary general the political organization Mdzleveli, was killed by pistol shots fired at close range, Interior Ministry spokesman Zurab Gvenetadze. He said there was no immediate evidence that the killing was politically motivated.

Mdzleveli — whose name derives from the Georgian word for "overcome" — is in opposition to President Mikhail Saakashvili and his government. It has no seats in parliament, which is dominated by Saakashvili supporters — or regional legislatures.

Saakashvili was elected president following the 2003 street protests known as the Rose Revolution that prompted his predecessor, Eduard Shevardnadze, to resign. Critics say he is power-hungry and intolerant of dissent. The Associated Press

/The International Herald Tribune/