Investigators said they had charged a lawmaker from Georgia in absentia with plotting anti-government riots.
The Investigative Committee said in a statement Thursday that Givi Targamadze, an ally of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, was charged with orchestrating anti-government riots carried out by Russian opposition activists.
The case dates back to a May protest rally in Moscow that culminated in clashes between protesters and police. Three leftist activists have already been charged with being Targamadze's emissaries.
The charges stem from a documentary-style film shown on the Kremlin-friendly NTV television station in October that purports to show Targamadze and the activists discussing the plot on hidden camera. All four men deny ever having met and say the film is a fabrication.
(AP)