THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607280114
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Briefs
DATELINE: MOSCOW LENGTH: 26 lines
The security chief of the former Soviet republic of Georgia has accused Russian secret services of ordering the 1993 killing of a Virginia resident believed to have been a CIA agent, a newspaper reported Saturday.
Fred Woodruff, of Herndon, was shot in the head while traveling with three Georgians outside Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. The U.S. government ruled it ``a random act of violence.''
Georgian security minister Shota Kviraya accused his predecessor, Igor Giorgadze, of arranging the murder on Moscow's orders, the respected Segodnya newspaper said.
Giorgadze has been charged in a car bomb attack against President Eduard Shevardnadze last August. He has fled Georgia and is said to be in Moscow.
The U.S. government has tried to help Shevardnadze, a former Soviet foreign minister who is perceived as a pro-Western leader committed to democratic reforms.
KEYWORDS: MURDER RUSSIA CIA VIRGINIA by CNB