Polish Embassy makes first comment on alleged smuggling of Saakashvili’s bio sample by Polish professional

The Polish Embassy in Georgia on Wednesday made first comment on alleged smuggling of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s biological sample by a visiting Polish professional on July 12, with the Georgian Special Penitentiary Service releasing a footage, saying the doctor had attempted to smuggle the sample through his shoe. 

 

In the statement, the Embassy said the incident had been “inconsistent” with the agreement, “unintentional and unforeseen”, which the mission claimed had been “immediately discovered” on the spot and then explained during the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. 

The Embassy noted the publication of the footage and the subsequent statements by Georgian officials had “contradicted the principles of good cooperation”. 

“The Polish side emphatically notes that neither the incident nor its disclosure by the Georgian authorities will affect the assessment of the patient’s health condition and the performance of Georgian doctors, nor the process of analyzing the results of examinations”, said the mission. 

Rati Bregadze, the Justice Minister, on Wednesday said the doctors would not be readmitted to the clinic to visit Saakashvili until the Polish side made explanations on the incident, which he said had contradicted both “legal and ethical” norms. 

He added the doctor’s action was “unclear” in the situation he had had an official permit to take the samples.