England – Police Probe ‘suspicious’ Death Of Wealthy Georgian Jewish Businessman

England – British police launched an investigation Wednesday into the “suspicious” death of a wealthy Georgian opposition leader accused of fomenting a coup in the ex-Soviet republic.

Badri Patarkatsishvili, 52, who had claimed there were plans to assassinate him, collapsed and died late Tuesday at his plush mansion outside Leatherhead, a leafy suburban commuter town south-west of London, police confirmed.

“As with all unexpected deaths it is being treated as suspicious,” police said in a statement, adding that a post-mortem was expected to be carried out later Wednesday.

He was a major force behind an opposition movement that took to the streets in the Georgian capital Tbilisi last November, prompting a violent police crackdown