Georgian 'coup plotter' dies in UK

LONDON, England (CNN) -- An opposition leader from the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia who was accused of plotting a coup last year has been found dead at his home south of London, police said Wednesday.

Police said they were called to the 52-year-old's house in Surrey late Tuesday and found his body. Surrey police are treating his death as suspicious -- but only because the exact cause of death could not immediately be determined.

A police spokeswoman told The Press Association: "Police were called to an address in Leatherhead late yesterday evening following the collapse and death of Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili, believed to be 52 years of age. "As with all unexplained deaths, it is being treated as suspicious."

A spokeswoman for Patarkatsishvili, who asked that her name not be used, said he died of heart failure.

A post mortem examination was planned later in the day, police said.

Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, a longtime business associate of Mr Patarkatsishvili's who also lives in London, told The Associated Press Patarkatsishvili's relatives said he had died around 11:00 p.m. London time (2300GMT) of a heart attack.

Berezovsky, speaking to AP from Moscow, said that Mr Patarkatsishvili had not been ill but had complained about his heart when they met Tuesday. "I saw him yesterday," Berezovsky said.

Berezovsky later released a statement saying: "The death of Badri Patarkatsishvili is a terrible tragedy. I have lost my closest friend. This is a huge loss for all of his family and friends.

"I shall make no further comment on the circumstances of Badri's death. I shall wait for the authorities to complete their investigation."

In December Patarkatsishvili spoke of his fears for his life after an alleged plot to assassinate him in London was uncovered.

Patarkatsishvili told AP at the time that he had obtained a tape recording of an official in his country's Interior Ministry asking a Chechen warlord to murder him while he was London.

"I believe they want to kill me," Patarkatsishvili told AP.

Patarkatsishvili also told the Sunday Times in December that he did not feel safe anywhere. He said:"I have 120 bodyguards but I know that's not enough. I don't feel safe anywhere and that is why I'm particularly not going to Georgia."

However, the Georgian government dismissed the claims as fabrication.

Patarkatsishvili was a wealthy and prominent figure in his native Georgia and had been living in Britain since last year after Georgian authorities accused him of plotting a coup against the president and issued a warrant for his arrest.

"His death is a big loss for our country. I know he wanted to do a lot of good things for Georgia," former Georgian president and Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze told Reuters.com.

Patarkatsishvili ran against presidential incumbent Mikhail Saakashvili in a snap election in January, getting about 7 percent of the vote.

Authorities blamed the wealthy businessman and his Imedi television station for stirring mass protests against Saakashvili on the streets of Georgia last November, the biggest challenge to the pro-Western president since he took power in 2003.

The protests were crushed when Saakashvili sent in riot police to fire rubber bullets and teargas at demonstrators, sparking international condemnation.

He said he had gone to the Georgian's home after learning of his death but that police were handling the matter and were not letting people in.

Saakashvili, the Georgian president, has faced accusations of authoritarian leanings since ordering the November crackdown on the opposition. Opposition groups have alleged the vote that Saakashvili won with 53 percent was rigged.

In September, former Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili accused Saakashvili of trying to encourage him to kill Patarkatsishvili in 2005, although he later retracted the charge. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Nicola Goulding contributed to this report.