TBILISI. Oct 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The trial of military expert Vakhtang Maisaia who has been charged with espionage has begun at the Tbilisi City Court.
The court heard case merits on Monday, a court source told Interfax. The hearings will be held by video because some of the documents contain state secrets.
Maisaia was charged with spying for Russia. He was apprehended on May 5, 2009, the day of a mutiny at the Mukhrovani military base.
The Georgian Interior Ministry said on May 6 that Maisaia, the dean of the Political Science Institute's international relations department, had made a confession.
"Maisaia, who had access to state secrets, was detained on espionage charges. He is suspected of divulging state secrets," the ministry said.
According to the ministry, Maisaia confessed to contacting the Russian secret service via a Ukrainian professor. He said he was passing information to a Russian security agent.
The ministry claimed that during the conflict last August in the Caucasus Maisaia was providing information about the position of Georgian forces and the number of military hardware on a daily basis.
The suspect said he received 7,000 euros per year plus bonuses.