Mikheil Saakashvili told a National Security Council session on March 27 that the riot and attempted mass jail break at a Tbilisi prison earlier that day was part of a bid by unspecified criminal elements to destabilize the situation in Georgia. He said the authorities \"will not talk with bandits\" and vowed \"zero tolerance\" towards criminals. Saakashvili further praised the response of police and security forces deployed to suppress the riot, in which the Georgian authorities have confirmed that seven people died. Ninety-six prisoners have since been transferred from the Tbilisi jail where the riot took place to the Rustavi penal colony. (Caucasus Press)