The Forest Brothers was a guerrilla group consisting mostly of ethnic Georgians

Georgians

The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....

 who remained in Abkhazia

Abkhazia

Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...

 after the Georgian regular army's defeat in the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993).

The group, along with another guerrilla group called the White Legion

White Legion

The White Legion was a guerrilla group consisting mostly of ethnic Georgians who remained in Abkhazia after the Georgian regular army's defeat in the War in Abkhazia ....

, continued low-intensity guerrilla war against Abkhaz forces along the ceasefire line in the late 1990s and early 2000s. According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, under the cover of its guerilla warfare, the Forest Brothers engaged in kidnappings, smuggling

Smuggling

Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...

 and other crimes.

The Forest Brothers were led by Dato Shengelia. Shengelia disbanded the group after Mikheil Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...

 was elected President of Georgia

President of Georgia

The President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...

 in January 2004. On 4 February 2004, the police arrested a large number of Forest Brothers in Zugdidi

Zugdidi

Zugdidi is a city in the Western Georgian historical province of Samegrelo . It is situated in the north-west of that province. The city is located 318 kilometres west of Tbilisi, 30 km. from Black sea coast and 30 km. from Egrisi range. 100-110 metres above sea level. As of 2007, it had a...

. On 11 February, Shengelia declared that he had reached an agreement with Interior Minister Giorgi Baramidze

Giorgi Baramidze

Giorgi Baramidze was born in 1968, in Tbilisi. He graduated from Technical University of Georgia, majoring in chemical technology. He has conducted scientific researches and is the author of several academic publications. Giorgi Baramidze was one of the founders and key members of the anti-Soviet...

 to lay down his arms.

In December 2006, Shengalia was arrested for the possession of heroin and methadone

Methadone

Methadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...

, and subsequently convicted to 24 years of imprisonment. However, he was released in 2010 on account of bad health. On 22 February 2011, the Abkhazian delegation at the 25th meeting on incident prevention in Chuburkhindji

Chuburkhindji

Chuburkhindji is a village in the Gali District of Abkhazia. As is the case in the rest of the district its population is almost exclusively Mingrelian .The village is the place of regular quadripartite meetings known informally...

questioned Shengelia's release and demanded his extradition from the Georgian side for various serious crimes.