Georgian police detained Vyacheslav Kuznetsov in the South Ossetian conflict zone on 22 July and took him to Tbilisi where a district court subsequently sentenced him to three months\' pretrial detention for entering Georgia without a valid visa. He is suspected of intending to join the South Ossetian armed forces as a mercenary. Kuznetsov, whom Georgian media identified as deputy ataman of the Kuban Cossacks, claimed he entered Georgia on a sightseeing tour. The South Ossetian government issued a statement on 23 July protesting Kuznetsov\'s arrest, Interfax reported, while a Kuban official said that the Kuban Cossack army has no record of an officer named Vyacheslav Kuznetsov. (Caucasus Press)